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The Unearthed

By Lenny Bartulin - Published 2023

Literary Mystery/Crime

Old bones – ‘mossed and soft’ – are discovered in the wilderness near Queenstown. Forensic scientist Antonia Kovacs arrives from Hobart to investigate them, also ... Read Review

The American Queen

By Vanessa Miller - Published 2024

1865: Enslaved twenty-four-year-old Louella yearns for freedom. The selling of her mother which wrenched her family apart, the horrific lynching of her father, and ... Read Review

The Sleeping Beauties

By Lucy Ashe - Published 2024

Now the war’s over, Rosamund Caradon can take the evacuated children in her care back to their London homes. She’s accompanied ... Read Review

Pelican Girls

By Julia Malye - Published 2024

Pelican Girls tells a vivid and potent story of women first discarded by society then sent as brides to shore up the floundering ... Read Review

By Holly Payne - Published 2023

In 1256, a woman gives birth in a monastery deep in the Rila mountains. Ivan, a young friar, is the only witness. Roses do ... Read Review

The Bone Hunters

By Joanne Burn - Published 2024

Lyme Regis, 1824. Ada Winters, 24, lives with mum Edith in a cottage ‘upon the beach’, so close to the sea that high tides almost ... Read Review

Hardy Women: Mother, Sisters, Wives, Muses

By Paula Byrne - Published 2024

In his day, Thomas Hardy was renowned for the psychological insight he brought to his female characters. As Byrne relates, Hardy the man ... Read Review

By Kelly Stone Gamble - Published 2023

1930s Nevada. Sixteen-year-old Helen Carter and her father migrate from Kansas to Ragtown, a shanty community near Las Vegas, joining thousands of other ... Read Review

The Lionheart’s Bride (Berengaria of Navarre Medieval Trilogy)

By Austin Hernon - Published 2023

Adventure Biographical Fiction

This 12th-century historical adventure follows Princess Berengaria on her quest to catch up with and marry Richard I, King of England, as he ... Read Review

Wolves around the Throne (Wolves of Odin Book 4)

By S.J.A. Turney - Published 2023

This is the fourth in Simon Turney’s Wolves of Odin Viking series but could easily be read as a standalone. In it ... Read Review

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50 Of The Best Historical Fiction Books

Nikki VanRy

Nikki VanRy is a proud resident of Arizona, where she gets to indulge her love of tacos, desert storms, and tank tops. She also writes for the Tucson Festival of Books, loves anything sci-fi/fantasy/historical, drinks too much chai, and will spend all day in bed reading thankyouverymuch. Follow her on Instagram @nikki.vanry .

View All posts by Nikki VanRy

Whittling all historical fiction books into one manageable list is impossible, truly. Instead of putting together a list of the 223,546 best historical fiction books, I opted instead for adult historical fiction showstoppers that present a wide array of time periods, places, characters, and more. We read historical fiction because we want to travel through time and space. This list, I believe, gives you the broadest view of our world’s shared past.

Now, who’s ready to travel time and space with me?

What is historical fiction?

A historical fiction definition seems simple enough: it’s fiction that takes place in the past. Typically, historical fiction books are written at least 30–50 years after the event or time period has taken place. While some of it may be remembered from a lived experience, a lot of a historical fiction novel’s conception comes from research.

In addition, historical fiction is usually considered more realistic in nature. Genre-bending books, though, have shown how a bit of fantasy or magical realism can enhance our understanding of the past. Because of this, I believe historical fiction books are also those that simply couldn’t have happened in any other time or place. The time period of the book and the real historical events that occurred during that time play as crucial of a role in the story as any character or plot twist.

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You can also read a more in-depth discussion of this at the Historical Novel Society.  Find more of our favorite historical fiction authors writing today here .

Some notes on this historical fiction list

In the following list, you’ll see books with fantastical elements, mystery, and romance. Some will have very recognizable historical figures starring as main characters, while others will tell the lesser known stories of people from the past.

Since we also have some fantastic lists on other historical fiction sub-genres, I’ve refrained from including  as many historical fiction books on the following topics (though some definitely do appear). For even more reading, check out:

• 100 Must-Read World War II Books
• 100 Must-Read Books of U.S. Historical Fiction
• 100 Must-Read YA Historical Novels 
• 100 Must-Read Historical Romances 
• 100 Must-Read Medieval Historical Fiction 
• 50 Must-Read Historical Fiction Books For Kids
• 50 Must-Read Historical Fiction Picture Books
• 28 Fabulous Works of Queer Historical Fiction

Along with this list, that gives you 678 of the best historical fiction books to work through (#sorrynotsorry to your TBR pile).

Each book in the following list notes the setting and time period. This is a general approximation, only usually giving the first setting and time period from a book as many of these span multiple generations and regions. I’ve also only included one book per author to increase our reach here. All book descriptions come from Amazon.

And, with that, read on for the best historical fiction books for adults.

The Best Historical Fiction Books

1. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

Time Period and Setting: 192os, Russia

Description :  In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and must now live in an attic room while some of the most tumultuous decades in Russian history are unfolding outside the hotel’s doors. Unexpectedly, his reduced circumstances provide him entry into a much larger world of emotional discovery.

Brimming with humor, a glittering cast of characters, and one beautifully rendered scene after another, this singular novel casts a spell as it relates the count’s endeavor to gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be a man of purpose.

2. A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee

Time Period and Setting: 1900s, India

Description :  Calcutta, 1919. Captain Sam Wyndham, former Scotland Yard detective, is a new arrival to Calcutta. Desperately seeking a fresh start after his experiences during the Great War, Wyndham has been recruited to head up a new post in the police force. He is immediately overwhelmed by the heady vibrancy of the tropical city, but with barely a moment to acclimatize or to deal with the ghosts that still haunt him, Wyndham is caught up in a murder investigation that threatens to destabilize a city already teetering on the brink of political insurgency.

The body of a senior official has been found in a filthy sewer, and a note left in his mouth warns the British to quit India, or else. Under tremendous pressure to solve the case before it erupts into increased violence on the streets, Wyndham and his two new colleagues―arrogant Inspector Digby and Sergeant Banerjee, one of the few Indians to be recruited into the new CID―embark on an investigation that will take them from the opulent mansions of wealthy British traders to the seedy opium dens of the city.

3. Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood

Time Period and Setting: 1800s, Canada

Description :  It’s 1843, and Grace Marks has been convicted for her involvement in the vicious murders of her employer and his housekeeper and mistress. Some believe Grace is innocent; others think her evil or insane. Now serving a life sentence, Grace claims to have no memory of the murders.

An up-and-coming expert in the burgeoning field of mental illness is engaged by a group of reformers and spiritualists who seek a pardon for Grace. He listens to her story while bringing her closer and closer to the day she cannot remember. What will he find in attempting to unlock her memories? Captivating and disturbing, Alias Grace showcases bestselling, Booker Prize-winning author Margaret Atwood at the peak of her powers.

4. As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann

Time Period and Setting: 1600s, England

Description :  In the seventeenth century, the English Revolution is under way. The nation, seething with religious and political discontent, has erupted into violence and terror. Jacob Cullen and his fellow soldiers dream of rebuilding their lives when the fighting is over. But the shattering events of war will overtake them.

A darkly erotic tale of passion and obsession, As Meat Loves Salt is a gripping portrait of England beset by war. It is also a moving portrait of a man on the brink of madness. Hailed as a masterpiece, this is a novel by a most original new voice in fiction.

5. Beloved by Toni Morrison

Time Period and Setting: Late 1800s, U.S.

Description :  Staring unflinchingly into the abyss of slavery, this spellbinding novel transforms history into a story as powerful as Exodus and as intimate as a lullaby.

Sethe, its protagonist, was born a slave and escaped to Ohio, but eighteen years later she is still not free. She has too many memories of Sweet Home, the beautiful farm where so many hideous things happened. And Sethe’s new home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, who died nameless and whose tombstone is engraved with a single word: Beloved. Filled with bitter poetry and suspense as taut as a rope, Beloved is a towering achievement.

6. The Book of Night Women by Marlon James

Time Period and Setting: Late 1700s, Jamaica

Description:  A true triumph of voice and storytelling, The Book of Night Women rings with both profound authenticity and a distinctly contemporary energy. It is the story of Lilith, born into slavery on a Jamaican sugar plantation at the end of the eighteenth century. Even at her birth, the slave women around her recognize a dark power that they- and she-will come to both revere and fear.

The Night Women, as they call themselves, have long been plotting a slave revolt, and as Lilith comes of age they see her as the key to their plans. But when she begins to understand her own feelings, desires, and identity, Lilith starts to push at the edges of what is imaginable for the life of a slave woman, and risks becoming the conspiracy’s weak link. But the real revelation of the book-the secret to the stirring imagery and insistent prose-is Marlon James himself, a young writer at once breath­takingly daring and wholly in command of his craft.

7. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Time Period and Setting: 1930s, Germany

Description:  It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

8. The Bourbon Thief by Tiffany Reisz

Time Period and Setting: 1900s, U.S.

Description:  When Cooper McQueen wakes up from a night with a beautiful stranger, it’s to discover he’s been robbed. The only item stolen—a million-dollar bottle of bourbon. The thief, a mysterious woman named Paris, claims the bottle is rightfully hers. After all, the label itself says it’s property of the Maddox family who owned and operated Red Thread Bourbon distillery since the last days of the Civil War until the company went out of business for reasons no one knows… No one except Paris.

In the small hours of a Louisville morning, Paris unspools the lurid tale of Tamara Maddox, heiress to the distillery that became an empire. But the family tree is rooted in tainted soil and has borne rotten fruit. Theirs is a legacy of wealth and power, but also of lies, secrets and sins of omission. The Maddoxes have bourbon in their blood—and blood in their bourbon. Why Paris wants the bottle of Red Thread remains a secret until the truth of her identity is at last revealed, and the century-old vengeance Tamara vowed against her family can finally be completed.

9. The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka

Time Period and Setting: Early 1900s, U.S.

Description:  A gorgeous novel by the celebrated author of When the Emperor Was Divine that tells the story of a group of young women brought from Japan to San Francisco as “picture brides” nearly a century ago.

In eight unforgettable sections, The Buddha in the Attic traces the extraordinary lives of these women, from their arduous journeys by boat, to their arrival in San Francisco and their tremulous first nights as new wives; from their experiences raising children who would later reject their culture and language, to the deracinating arrival of war. Once again, Julie Otsuka has written a spellbinding novel about identity and loyalty, and what it means to be an American in uncertain times.

10. Doc by Mary Doria Russell

Description:  Born to the life of a Southern gentleman, Dr. John Henry Holliday arrives on the Texas frontier hoping that the dry air and sunshine of the West will restore him to health. Soon, with few job prospects, Doc Holliday is gambling professionally with his partner, Mária Katarina Harony, a high-strung, classically educated Hungarian whore.

In search of high-stakes poker, the couple hits the saloons of Dodge City. And that is where the unlikely friendship of Doc Holliday and a fearless lawman named Wyatt Earp begins— before the gunfight at the O.K. Corral links their names forever in American frontier mythology—when neither man wanted fame or deserved notoriety.

11. The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

Time Period and Setting: Ancient Israel

Description:  Nearly two thousand years ago, nine hundred Jews held out for months against armies of Romans on Masada, a mountain in the Judean desert. According to the ancient historian Josephus, two women and five children survived. Based on this tragic and iconic event, Hoffman’s novel is a spellbinding tale of four extraordinarily bold, resourceful, and sensuous women, each of whom has come to Masada by a different path. Yael’s mother died in childbirth, and her father, an expert assassin, never forgave her for that death. Revka, a village baker’s wife, watched the murder of her daughter by Roman soldiers; she brings to Masada her young grandsons, rendered mute by what they have witnessed. Aziza is a warrior’s daughter, raised as a boy, a fearless rider and expert marksman who finds passion with a fellow soldier. Shirah, born in Alexandria, is wise in the ways of ancient magic and medicine, a woman with uncanny insight and power.

The lives of these four complex and fiercely independent women intersect in the desperate days of the siege. All are dovekeepers, and all are also keeping secrets—about who they are, where they come from, who fathered them, and whom they love.

12. The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman

Time Period and Setting: 1800s, England

Description:  Born in a brothel, Ruth doesn’t expect much for herself beyond abuse. While her sister’s beauty affords a certain degree of comfort, Ruth’s harsh looks set her on a path of drudgery. That is until she meets pugilist patron George Dryer and discovers her true calling—fighting bare knuckles in the prize rings of Bristol.

Manor-born Charlotte has a different cross to bear. Scarred by smallpox, stifled by her social and romantic options, and trapped in twisted power games with her wastrel brother, she is desperate for an escape.

After a disastrous, life-changing fight sidelines Ruth, the two women meet, and it alters the perspectives of both of them. When Charlotte presents Ruth with an extraordinary proposition, Ruth pushes dainty Charlotte to enter the ring herself and learn the power of her own strength.

13. Fingersmith   by Sarah Waters

Description: Sue Trinder is an orphan, left as an infant in the care of Mrs. Sucksby, a “baby farmer,” who raised her with unusual tenderness, as if Sue were her own. Mrs. Sucksby’s household, with its fussy babies calmed with doses of gin, also hosts a transient family of petty thieves—fingersmiths—for whom this house in the heart of a mean London slum is home.

One day, the most beloved thief of all arrives—Gentleman, an elegant con man, who carries with him an enticing proposition for Sue: If she wins a position as the maid to Maud Lilly, a naïve gentlewoman, and aids Gentleman in her seduction, then they will all share in Maud’s vast inheritance. Once the inheritance is secured, Maud will be disposed of—passed off as mad, and made to live out the rest of her days in a lunatic asylum.

With dreams of paying back the kindness of her adopted family, Sue agrees to the plan. Once in, however, Sue begins to pity her helpless mark and care for Maud Lilly in unexpected ways…But no one and nothing is as it seems in this Dickensian novel of thrills and reversals.

14. Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras

Time Period and Setting:  1980s, Colombia

Description:  Seven-year-old Chula and her older sister Cassandra enjoy carefree lives thanks to their gated community in Bogotá, but the threat of kidnappings, car bombs, and assassinations hover just outside the neighborhood walls, where the godlike drug lord Pablo Escobar continues to elude authorities and capture the attention of the nation.

When their mother hires Petrona, a live-in-maid from the city’s guerrilla-occupied slum, Chula makes it her mission to understand Petrona’s mysterious ways. But Petrona’s unusual behavior belies more than shyness. She is a young woman crumbling under the burden of providing for her family as the rip tide of first love pulls her in the opposite direction. As both girls’ families scramble to maintain stability amidst the rapidly escalating conflict, Petrona and Chula find themselves entangled in a web of secrecy that will force them both to choose between sacrifice and betrayal.

15. The Game of Kings by Dorothy Dunnett

Time Period and Setting:  1500s, Scotland

Description:  In this first book in the legendary Lymond Chronicles, Francis Crawford of Lymond, traitor, murderer, nobleman, returns to Scotland to redeem his reputation and save his home.

It is 1547 and Scotland has been humiliated by an English invasion and is threatened by machinations elsewhere beyond its borders, but it is still free. Paradoxically, her freedom may depend on a man who stands accused of treason. He is Francis Crawford of Lymond, a scapgrace nobleman of crooked felicities and murderous talents, posessed of a scholar’s erudition and a tongue as wicked as a rapier. In The Game of Kings, this extraordinary antihero returns to the country that has outlawed him to redeem his reputations even at the risk of his life.

16. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

Time Period and Setting: 1960s, India

Description:  Compared favorably to the works of Faulkner and Dickens, Arundhati Roy’s modern classic is equal parts powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama. The seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel see their world shaken irrevocably by the arrival of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. It is an event that will lead to an illicit liaison and tragedies accidental and intentional, exposing “big things [that] lurk unsaid” in a country drifting dangerously toward unrest.

Lush, lyrical, and unnerving, The God of Small Things is an award-winning landmark that started for its author an esteemed career of fiction and political commentary that continues unabated.

17. The Gods of Tango by Carolina de Robertis

Time Period and Setting: Early 1900s, Argentina

Description:  Arriving in Buenos Aires in 1913, with only a suitcase and her father’s cherished violin to her name, seventeen-year-old Leda is shocked to find that the husband she has travelled across an ocean to reach is dead. Unable to return home, alone, and on the brink of destitution, she finds herself seduced by the tango, the dance that underscores every aspect of life in her new city.

Knowing that she can never play in public as a woman, Leda disguises herself as a young man to join a troupe of musicians. In the illicit, scandalous world of brothels and cabarets, the line between Leda and her disguise begins to blur, and forbidden longings that she has long kept suppressed are realized for the first time. Powerfully sensual, The Gods of Tango is an erotically charged story of music, passion, and the quest for an authentic life against the odds.

18. The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Description:  Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life to by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic and dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free.

Ahmad and Chava become unlikely friends and soul mates with a mystical connection. Marvelous and compulsively readable, Helene Wecker’s debut novel The Golem and the Jinni weaves strands of Yiddish and Middle Eastern literature, historical fiction and magical fable, into a wondrously inventive and unforgettable tale.

19. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Time Period and Setting: Mid-1700s, Ghana

Description:  Ghana, eighteenth century: two half sisters are born into different villages, each unaware of the other. One will marry an Englishman and lead a life of comfort in the palatial rooms of the Cape Coast Castle. The other will be captured in a raid on her village, imprisoned in the very same castle, and sold into slavery.

Homegoing follows the parallel paths of these sisters and their descendants through eight generations: from the Gold Coast to the plantations of Mississippi, from the American Civil War to Jazz Age Harlem. Yaa Gyasi’s extraordinary novel illuminates slavery’s troubled legacy both for those who were taken and those who stayed—and shows how the memory of captivity has been inscribed on the soul of our nation.

20. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

Time Period and Setting: 1900s, Chile

Description:  The House of the Spirits , the unforgettable first novel that established Isabel Allende as one of the world’s most gifted storytellers, brings to life the triumphs and tragedies of three generations of the Trueba family. The patriarch Esteban is a volatile, proud man whose voracious pursuit of political power is tempered only by his love for his delicate wife Clara, a woman with a mystical connection to the spirit world. When their daughter Blanca embarks on a forbidden love affair in defiance of her implacable father, the result is an unexpected gift to Esteban: his adored granddaughter Alba, a beautiful and strong-willed child who will lead her family and her country into a revolutionary future.

One of the most important novels of the twentieth century, The House of the Spirits is an enthralling epic that spans decades and lives, weaving the personal and the political into a universal story of love, magic, and fate.

21. Human Acts by Han Kang

Time Period and Setting: 1980s, South Korea

Description:  In the midst of a violent student uprising in South Korea, a young boy named Dong-ho is shockingly killed.

The story of this tragic episode unfolds in a sequence of interconnected chapters as the victims and the bereaved encounter suppression, denial, and the echoing agony of the massacre. From Dong-ho’s best friend who meets his own fateful end; to an editor struggling against censorship; to a prisoner and a factory worker, each suffering from traumatic memories; and to Dong-ho’s own grief-stricken mother; and through their collective heartbreak and acts of hope is the tale of a brutalized people in search of a voice.

An award-winning, controversial bestseller, Human Acts is a timeless, pointillist portrait of an historic event with reverberations still being felt today, by turns tracing the harsh reality of oppression and the resounding, extraordinary poetry of humanity.

22. If You Leave Me by Crystal Hana Kim

Time Period and Setting: 1950s, Korea

Description:  An emotionally riveting debut novel about war, family, and forbidden love—the unforgettable saga of two ill-fated lovers in Korea and the heartbreaking choices they’re forced to make in the years surrounding the civil war that still haunts us today.

When the communist-backed army from the north invades her home, sixteen-year-old Haemi Lee, along with her widowed mother and ailing brother, is forced to flee to a refugee camp along the coast. For a few hours each night, she escapes her family’s makeshift home and tragic circumstances with her childhood friend, Kyunghwan.

Focused on finishing school, Kyunghwan doesn’t realize his older and wealthier cousin, Jisoo, has his sights set on the beautiful and spirited Haemi—and is determined to marry her before joining the fight. But as Haemi becomes a wife, then a mother, her decision to forsake the boy she always loved for the security of her family sets off a dramatic saga that will have profound effects for generations to come.

23. The King Must Die by Mary Renault

Time Period and Setting: Ancient Greece

Description:  In this ambitious, ingenious narrative, celebrated historical novelist Mary Renault take legendary hero Theseus and spins his myth into a fast-paced and exciting story.

Renault starts with Theseus’ early years, showing how the mystery of his father’s identity and his small stature breed the insecurities that spur his youthful hijinx. As he moves on to Eleusis, Athens, and Crete, his playfulness and fondness for pranks matures into the courage to attempt singular heroic feats, the gallantry and leadership he was known for on the battlefield, and the bold-hearted ingenuity he shows in navigating the labyrinth and slaying the Minotaur. In what is perhaps the most inventive of all her novels of Ancient Greece, Renault casts Theseus in a surprisingly original pose; she teases the flawed human out of the bronze hero, and draws the plausible out of the fantastic.

24. Lavinia by Ursula K. Le Guin

Time Period and Setting: Ancient Italy

Description:  In The Aeneid, Vergil’s hero fights to claim the king’s daughter, Lavinia, with whom he is destined to found an empire. Lavinia herself never speaks a word. Now, Ursula K. Le Guin gives Lavinia a voice in a novel that takes us to the half-wild world of ancient Italy, when Rome was a muddy village near seven hills.

Lavinia grows up knowing nothing but peace and freedom, until suitors come. Her mother wants her to marry handsome, ambitious Turnus. But omens and prophecies spoken by the sacred springs say she must marry a foreigner—that she will be the cause of a bitter war—and that her husband will not live long. When a fleet of Trojan ships sails up the Tiber, Lavinia decides to take her destiny into her own hands. And so she tells us what Vergil did not: the story of her life, and of the love of her life.

25. The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

Time Period and Setting: 1900s, Australia

Description:  After four harrowing years on the Western Front, Tom Sherbourne returns to Australia and takes a job as the lighthouse keeper on Janus Rock, nearly half a day’s journey from the coast. To this isolated island, where the supply boat comes once a season, Tom brings a young, bold, and loving wife, Isabel. Years later, after two miscarriages and one stillbirth, the grieving Isabel hears a baby’s cries on the wind. A boat has washed up onshore carrying a dead man and a living baby.

Tom, who keeps meticulous records and whose moral principles have withstood a horrific war, wants to report the man and infant immediately. But Isabel insists the baby is a “gift from God,” and against Tom’s judgment, they claim her as their own and name her Lucy. When she is two, Tom and Isabel return to the mainland and are reminded that there are other people in the world. Their choice has devastated one of them.

26. Moloka’i by Alan Brennert

Time Period and Setting: 1900s, Hawai’i

Description:  This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai’i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place—and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.

Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka’i. Here her life is supposed to end—but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.

With a vibrant cast of vividly realized characters, Moloka’i is the true-to-life chronicle of a people who embraced life in the face of death.

27. The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami

Time Period and Setting: 1500s, Americas

Description:  In these pages, Laila Lalami brings us the imagined memoirs of the first black explorer of America: Mustafa al-Zamori, called Estebanico. The slave of a Spanish conquistador, Estebanico sails for the Americas with his master, Dorantes, as part of a danger-laden expedition to Florida. Within a year, Estebanico is one of only four crew members to survive.

As he journeys across America with his Spanish companions, the Old World roles of slave and master fall away, and Estebanico remakes himself as an equal, a healer, and a remarkable storyteller. His tale illuminates the ways in which our narratives can transmigrate into history—and how storytelling can offer a chance at redemption and survival.

28. My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Time Period and Setting: 1950s, Italy

Description:  Beginning in the 1950s in a poor but vibrant neighborhood on the outskirts of Naples, Ferrante’s four-volume story spans almost sixty years, as its protagonists, the fiery and unforgettable Lila, and the bookish narrator, Elena, become women, wives, mothers, and leaders, all the while maintaining a complex and at times conflictual friendship. Book one in the series follows Lila and Elena from their first fateful meeting as ten-year-olds through their school years and adolescence.

Through the lives of these two women, Ferrante tells the story of a neighborhood, a city, and a country as it is transformed in ways that, in turn, also transform the relationship between her protagonists.

29. Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Time Period and Setting: 1300s, Italy

Description:  The year is 1327. Franciscans in a wealthy Italian abbey are suspected of heresy, and Brother William of Baskerville arrives to investigate. When his delicate mission is suddenly overshadowed by seven bizarre deaths, Brother William turns detective.

His tools are the logic of Aristotle, the theology of Aquinas, the empirical insights of Roger Bacon—all sharpened to a glistening edge by wry humor and a ferocious curiosity. He collects evidence, deciphers secret symbols and coded manuscripts, and digs into the eerie labyrinth of the abbey, where “the most interesting things happen at night.”

30. Nefertiti by Michelle Moran

Time Period and Setting: Ancient Egypt

Description:  Nefertiti and her younger sister, Mutnodjmet, have been raised in a powerful family that has provided wives to the rulers of Egypt for centuries. Ambitious, charismatic, and beautiful, Nefertiti is destined to marry Amunhotep, an unstable young pharaoh. It is hoped that her strong personality will temper the young ruler’s heretical desire to forsake Egypt’s ancient gods.

From the moment of her arrival in Thebes, Nefertiti is beloved by the people but fails to see that powerful priests are plotting against her husband’s rule. The only person brave enough to warn the queen is her younger sister, Mutnodjmet.

Observant and contemplative, Mutnodjmet has never shared her sister’s desire for power. She yearns for a quiet existence away from family duty and the intrigues of court. But remaining loyal to Nefertiti will force Mutnodjmet into a dangerous political game; one that could cost her everything she holds dear. Teeming with love, betrayal, political unrest, plague, and religious conflict, Nefertiti brings ancient Egypt to life in vivid detail.

31. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez

Time Period and Setting: 1800s, Colombia

Description:  One of the twentieth century’s most beloved and acclaimed novels, One Hundred Years of Solitude tells the story of the rise and fall, birth and death of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendia family.

Inventive, amusing, magnetic, sad, and alive with unforgettable men and women—brimming with truth, compassion, and a lyrical magic that strikes the soul—this novel is a masterpiece in the art of fiction.

32. Pachinko by Min Jin Lee

Time Period and Setting: Early 1900s, Japan

Description:  In the early 1900s, teenaged Sunja, the adored daughter of a crippled fisherman, falls for a wealthy stranger at the seashore near her home in Korea. He promises her the world, but when she discovers she is pregnant–and that her lover is married–she refuses to be bought. Instead, she accepts an offer of marriage from a gentle, sickly minister passing through on his way to Japan. But her decision to abandon her home, and to reject her son’s powerful father, sets off a dramatic saga that will echo down through the generations.

Richly told and profoundly moving, Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice, ambition, and loyalty. From bustling street markets to the halls of Japan’s finest universities to the pachinko parlors of the criminal underworld, Lee’s complex and passionate characters–strong, stubborn women, devoted sisters and sons, fathers shaken by moral crisis–survive and thrive against the indifferent arc of history.

33. The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Time Period and Setting: 1100s, England

Description:  Ken Follett is known worldwide as the master of split-second suspense, but his most beloved and bestselling book tells the magnificent tale of a twelfth-century monk driven to do the seemingly impossible: build the greatest Gothic cathedral the world has ever known.

Everything readers expect from Follett is here: intrigue, fast-paced action, and passionate romance. But what makes The Pillars of the Earth extraordinary is the time the twelfth century; the place feudal England; and the subject the building of a glorious cathedral. Follett has re-created the crude, flamboyant England of the Middle Ages in every detail. The vast forests, the walled towns, the castles, and the monasteries become a familiar landscape.

The building of the cathedral, with the almost eerie artistry of the unschooled stonemasons, is the center of the drama. Around the site of the construction, Follett weaves a story of betrayal, revenge, and love, which begins with the public hanging of an innocent man and ends with the humiliation of a king.

34. The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

Time Period and Setting:  1800s, France

Description:  A “wild opera of a novel,” The Queen of the Night tells the mesmerizing story of Lilliet Berne, an orphan who left the American frontier for Europe and was swept into the glamour and terror of Second Empire France. She became a sensation of the Paris Opera, with every accolade but an original role—her chance at immortality.

When one is offered to her, she finds the libretto is based on her deepest secret, something only four people have ever known. But who betrayed her? With “epic sweep, gorgeous language, and haunting details,” Alexander Chee shares Lilliet’s cunning transformation from circus rider to courtesan to legendary soprano, retracing the path that led to the role that could secure her reputation—or destroy her with the secrets it reveals.

35. The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

Time Period and Setting:  Ancient Middle East

Description:  Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that tell of her father, Jacob, and his twelve sons.

Told in Dinah’s voice, Anita Diamant imagines the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood–the world of the red tent. It begins with the story of the mothers–Leah, Rachel, Zilpah, and Bilhah–the four wives of Jacob. They love Dinah and give her gifts that sustain her through childhood, a calling to midwifery, and a new home in a foreign land. Dinah’s story reaches out from a remarkable period of early history and creates an intimate connection with the past.

Deeply affecting, The Red Tent combines rich storytelling with a valuable achievement in modern fiction: a new view of biblical women’s lives.

36. Sacred Wilderness by Susan Power

Time Period and Setting:  1600s, Americas

Description:  Sacred Wilderness explores the lives of four women of different eras and backgrounds who come together to restore foundation to a mixed-up, mixed-blood woman–a woman who had been living the American dream, and found it a great maw of emptiness.

These Clan Mothers may be wisdom-keepers, but they are anything but stern and aloof–they are women of joy and grief, risking their hearts and sometimes their lives for those they love. The novel swirls through time, from present-day Minnesota to the Mohawk territory of the 1620s, to the ancient biblical world, brought to life by an indigenous woman who would come to be known as the Virgin Mary. The Clan Mothers reveal secrets, the insights of prophecy, and stories that are by turns comic, so painful they can break your heart, and perhaps even powerful enough to save the world. In lyrical, lushly imagined prose, Sacred Wilderness is a novel of unprecedented necessity.

37. The Samurai’s Garden by Gail Tsukiyama

Time Period and Setting:  1930s, Japan

Description:  The daughter of a Chinese mother and a Japanese father, Tsukiyama uses the Japanese invasion of China during the late 1930s as a somber backdrop for her unusual story about a 20-year-old Chinese painter named Stephen who is sent to his family’s summer home in a Japanese coastal village to recover from a bout with tuberculosis. Here he is cared for by Matsu, a reticent housekeeper and a master gardener.

Over the course of a remarkable year, Stephen learns Matsu’s secret and gains not only physical strength, but also profound spiritual insight. Matsu is a samurai of the soul, a man devoted to doing good and finding beauty in a cruel and arbitrary world, and Stephen is a noble student, learning to appreciate Matsu’s generous and nurturing way of life and to love Matsu’s soulmate, gentle Sachi, a woman afflicted with leprosy.

38. The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert

Time Period and Setting:  1800s, U.S.

Description:  Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry’s brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father’s money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself. As Alma’s research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction—into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist—but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.

Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, The Signature of All Things soars across the globe—from London to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam, and beyond. 

39. The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker

Time Period and Setting:  Ancient Turkey

Description:  The ancient city of Troy has withstood a decade under siege of the powerful Greek army, who continue to wage bloody war over a stolen woman–Helen. In the Greek camp, another woman watches and waits for the war’s outcome: Briseis. She was queen of one of Troy’s neighboring kingdoms, until Achilles, Greece’s greatest warrior, sacked her city and murdered her husband and brothers. Briseis becomes Achilles’s concubine, a prize of battle, and must adjust quickly in order to survive a radically different life, as one of the many conquered women who serve the Greek army.

When Agamemnon, the brutal political leader of the Greek forces, demands Briseis for himself, she finds herself caught between the two most powerful of the Greeks. Achilles refuses to fight in protest, and the Greeks begin to lose ground to their Trojan opponents. Keenly observant and cooly unflinching about the daily horrors of war, Briseis finds herself in an unprecedented position to observe the two men driving the Greek forces in what will become their final confrontation, deciding the fate, not only of Briseis’s people, but also of the ancient world at large.

40. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Time Period and Setting:  Ancient Greece

Description:  Madeline Miller’s thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War. A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad.

An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction’s brightest lights—and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.

41. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See

Time Period and Setting:  1800s, China

Description:  In nineteenth-century China, when wives and daughters were foot-bound and lived in almost total seclusion, the women in one remote Hunan county developed their own secret code for communication: nu shu (“women’s writing”). Some girls were paired with laotongs, “old sames,” in emotional matches that lasted throughout their lives. They painted letters on fans, embroidered messages on handkerchiefs, and composed stories, thereby reaching out of their isolation to share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments.

With the arrival of a silk fan on which Snow Flower has composed for Lily a poem of introduction in nu shu, their friendship is sealed and they become “old sames” at the tender age of seven. As the years pass, through famine and rebellion, they reflect upon their arranged marriages, loneliness, and the joys and tragedies of motherhood. The two find solace, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive. But when a misunderstanding arises, their lifelong friendship suddenly threatens to tear apart.

42. The Storm by Arif Anwar

Time Period and Setting:  1900s, Bangladesh

Description:  Shahryar, a recent PhD graduate and father of nine-year-old Anna, must leave the US when his visa expires. In their last remaining weeks together, we learn Shahryar’s history, in a vil­lage on the Bay of Bengal, where a poor fisherman and his wife are preparing to face a storm of historic proportions.

That story intersects with those of a Japanese pilot, a British doctor stationed in Burma during World War II, and a privileged couple in Calcutta who leaves everything behind to move to East Pakistan following the Partition of India. Inspired by the 1970 Bhola cyclone, in which half a million-people perished overnight, the structure of this riveting novel mimics the storm itself. Building to a series of revelatory and moving climaxes, it shows the many ways in which families love, betray, honor, and sacrifice for one another.

43. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen

Time Period and Setting:  1970s, U.S.

Description:  The winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, as well as seven other awards, The Sympathizer is the breakthrough novel of the year. With the pace and suspense of a thriller and prose that has been compared to Graham Greene and Saul Bellow, The Sympathizer is a sweeping epic of love and betrayal.

The narrator, a communist double agent, is a “man of two minds,” a half-French, half-Vietnamese army captain who arranges to come to America after the Fall of Saigon, and while building a new life with other Vietnamese refugees in Los Angeles is secretly reporting back to his communist superiors in Vietnam. The Sympathizer is a blistering exploration of identity and America, a gripping espionage novel, and a powerful story of love and friendship.

44. Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe

Time Period and Setting:  1800s, Nigeria

Description:  Things Fall Apart is the first of three novels in Chinua Achebe’s critically acclaimed African Trilogy. It is a classic narrative about Africa’s cataclysmic encounter with Europe as it establishes a colonial presence on the continent. Told through the fictional experiences of Okonkwo, a wealthy and fearless Igbo warrior of Umuofia in the late 1800s, Things Fall Apart explores one man’s futile resistance to the devaluing of his Igbo traditions by British political andreligious forces and his despair as his community capitulates to the powerful new order.

With more than 20 million copies sold and translated into fifty-seven languages, Things Fall Apart provides one of the most illuminating and permanent monuments to African experience. Achebe does not only capture life in a pre-colonial African village, he conveys the tragedy of the loss of that world while broadening our understanding of our contemporary realities.

45. The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan

Time Period and Setting:  1600s, India

Description:  An enchanting historical epic of grand passion and adventure, this debut novel tells the captivating story of one of India’s most controversial empresses — a woman whose brilliance and determination trumped myriad obstacles, and whose love shaped the course of the Mughal Empire.

Skillfully blending the textures of historical reality with the rich and sensual imaginings of a timeless fairy tale, The Twentieth Wife sweeps readers up in Mehrunnisa’s embattled love with Prince Salim, and in the bedazzling destiny of a woman — a legend in her own time — who was all but lost to history until now.

46. The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

Description:  Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hell for all the slaves, but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood—where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned—Cora kills a young white boy who tries to capture her. Though they manage to find a station and head north, they are being hunted.

In Whitehead’s ingenious conception, the Underground Railroad is no mere metaphor—engineers and conductors operate a secret network of tracks and tunnels beneath the Southern soil. Cora and Caesar’s first stop is South Carolina, in a city that initially seems like a haven. But the city’s placid surface masks an insidious scheme designed for its black denizens. And even worse: Ridgeway, the relentless slave catcher, is close on their heels. Forced to flee again, Cora embarks on a harrowing flight, state by state, seeking true freedom.

47. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan

Time Period and Setting:  Early 1800s, Barbados

Description:  George Washington Black, or “Wash,” an eleven-year-old field slave on a Barbados sugar plantation, is terrified to be chosen by his master’s brother as his manservant. To his surprise, the eccentric Christopher Wilde turns out to be a naturalist, explorer, inventor, and abolitionist.

Soon Wash is initiated into a world where a flying machine can carry a man across the sky, where even a boy born in chains may embrace a life of dignity and meaning–and where two people, separated by an impossible divide, can begin to see each other as human. But when a man is killed and a bounty is placed on Wash’s head, Christopher and Wash must abandon everything. What follows is their flight along the eastern coast of America, and, finally, to a remote outpost in the Arctic. What brings Christopher and Wash together will tear them apart, propelling Wash even further across the globe in search of his true self.

48. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

Time Period and Setting:  1960s-1970s, U.S.

Description:  For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.

Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

49. The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey

Time Period and Setting:  1920s, India

Description:  Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father’s law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a legal education from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes women’s legal rights especially important to her.

Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen examines the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X—meaning she probably couldn’t even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah—in strict seclusion, never leaving the women’s quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate, and realizes her instincts were correct when tensions escalate to murder. Now it is her responsibility to figure out what really happened on Malabar Hill, and to ensure that no innocent women or children are in further danger.

50. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Time Period and Setting:  1500s, England

Description:  England in the 1520s is a heartbeat from disaster. If the king dies without a male heir, the country could be destroyed by civil war. Henry VIII wants to annul his marriage of twenty years and marry Anne Boleyn. The pope and most of Europe opposes him.

Into this impasse steps Thomas Cromwell: a wholly original man, a charmer and a bully, both idealist and opportunist, astute in reading people, and implacable in his ambition. But Henry is volatile: one day tender, one day murderous. Cromwell helps him break the opposition, but what will be the price of his triumph?

You most likely didn’t see your favorites in this list, but that’s okay! Help us grow that list of 678 of the best historical fiction books by sharing your favorites with us on social.

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Like a drop of rain that holds the reflection of the world, crystalline and beautiful. Full review >

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28 historical fiction books that will whisk you away to a different world

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• Historical fiction books transport us through time.
• They captivate readers and illuminate an important moment in history.
• Our recommendations range from historical fiction classics to new releases.

Books can transport us across galaxies and mythical lands. With historical fiction books in particular, we can be taken through time by characters who illuminate real events and stories that demand to be told. Our favorite historical fiction novels may highlight the trials of refugees in the early 1900s or a familial tale that stretches generations, but they all use compelling characters and memorable plots to bring the past to life.  

To create this list of recommendations, we looked at readers' favorite historical fiction books of all time, from new titles on bestseller lists to classics that are still receiving rave reviews on Goodreads. So whether you want to explore 12th-century England or a Pulitzer Prize-winning story about the underground railroad, here are some of the best historical fiction books to read in 2022.

The 28 best historical fiction books of all time:

A historical fiction book about books, world war ii, and murder.

"The Diamond Eye" by Kate Quinn, available on Amazon and Bookshop , from $16.19

Known for her bestseller " The Rose Code ," Quinn's latest historical fiction read is about a bookworm name Mila Pavlichenko who becomes World War II's deadliest sniper when she's pulled from her life and thrust onto the battlefield. Torn once again from her world after her 300th kill, Mila is sent on a goodwill tour in America where an old foe and a new enemy bring the battlefield and haunting demons across the world for the deadliest battle of Mila's life. 

A historical fiction read that serves as a lens for forced sterilization

"Take My Hand" by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $18.90

Civil Townsend is fresh out of nursing school in 1973 when her new job at the local family planning clinic introduces her to the Williams sisters who, at ages 11 and 13, have their lives irrevocably changed forever. Based on the true horror of forced sterilization of poor Black people and the case of Mary Alice and Minnie Lee Relf, "Take My Hand" is a moving and gripping novel that not only illuminates real events but highlights the importance of even one voice in the face of injustice. 

A historical fiction story within a story

"Trust" by Hernan Diaz, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $25.20

All of New York seems to have read "Bonds," a 1938 novel about the mysterious wealth of Benjamin and Helen Rask in the 1920s, though this isn't the only version of the story. A book within a book, "Trust" tells a story where fact is interwoven with fiction, allowing the reader to unravel the truth as money, power, and what the characters want to believe about themselves manipulates the truth.

A historical fiction book about separated and reconnected siblings

"We Measure the Earth with Our Bodies" by Tsering Yangzom Lama, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $24.30

Lhamo and Tenkyi are sisters who have just survived a perilous journey across the Himalayas to a refugee camp on the border of Nepal as China invaded Tibet in 1959, though the trip left them orphaned. Decades later, the sisters are separated but connected through Lhamo's daughter, who finds a statue in a collector's vault that was once from her mother's village, carved in the image of a nameless saint and known for vanishing and reappearing in times of need.

A historical fiction critique on sexism in the science industry

"Lessons in Chemistry" by Bonnie Garmus, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $18.48

In 1960s California, Elizabeth Zott's career as a chemist in a male-dominated science industry takes a sharp turn when she finds herself the star of America's favorite cooking show. With an unusual and revolutionary approach to cooking, Elizabeth isn't just teaching women a new way to cook — she's teaching them how to defy the status quo in this delightful and hilarious new historical fiction read.  

A historical fiction story that's part coming-of-age and part murder mystery

"Where The Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $9.98 

In this coming-of-age story driven by the mystery of a possible murder, Kya Clark is a young woman with only one day of schooling who's been surviving alone in the marsh since she was seven, earning herself the nickname "Marsh Girl." When a popular boy is found dead, Kya is an immediate suspect. This novel shows both the beauty of the natural world and the violence of pain, shifting between Kya's resilient life on the marsh and the tantalizing murder mystery. 

A multi-generational historical fiction story of a Korean family's migration to Japan

"Pachinko" by Min Jin Lee, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.99 

This National Book Award finalist takes place in the early 1900s Korea where readers meet Sunja, a teenage girl who falls in love with a wealthy stranger who promises her the world. When she discovers that he's married and she's pregnant, Sunja must instead accept a proposal from a minister on his way to Japan, rejecting the powerful father of her son in the process. This read contains a lot of fascinating history and follows four generations of a Korean family through Japanese colonization, war, and the divide of North and South Korea.

A historical fiction book about women’s bravery during World War II

"The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $8.18

"The Nightingale" takes place in France and begins just before the Nazi invasion in 1939. It's the story of unbreakable resolve and an untold perspective of World War II, following two sisters as one trying to keep her daughter safe as a German captain claims her home, while the other risks her life by joining the resistance. Despite being over 400 pages, it's a fast read that brought me to tears on more than one occasion and is my personal favorite historical fiction book.

An intertwining historical fiction tale of twin sisters

"The Vanishing Half" by Brit Bennett, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $18.65 

"The Vanishing Half" is a historical fiction novel about twin sisters who grew up to live very different lives. At 16, the Vignes twins run away together from their small, Black town to later separate and become starkly different women whose fates still manage to intersect through their children. Years later, one sister once again lives in their hometown with her daughter, while the other lives with her white husband, quietly passing as a white woman. Told from the 1950s to the 1990s, this is a generational story of identity, community, and family that was widely considered one of the best books of 2020.

An award-winning historical fiction classic

"Beloved" by Toni Morrison, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $9.31 

Winner of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize , Toni Morrison's "Beloved" is a devastating and unflinching story of slavery and survival. Sethe was born a slave and escaped to Ohio. Yet, 18 years later, she's still tormented by her memories of the farm and the ones she left behind. Now, her home is haunted by the ghost of her baby, whose tombstone is engraved with only "Beloved." This story is an emotional and brutal tale of the complex legacy of slavery.

A historical fiction read about love and relationships between women

"Snow Flower and the Secret Fan" by Lisa See, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $13.19

With flowing prose that easily transports readers to 19th century China, Lisa See shows how the power of friendship can help us endure life's greatest challenges. Lily and Snow Flower were paired as emotional matches when they were seven years old, communicating with each other in "nu shu" or women's writing, a secret code women used to communicate despite seclusion. Through the years, Lily and Snow Flower share their hopes, dreams, and accomplishments through messages sent on fans, outlining the agony of foot-binding, the joys of motherhood, and their thoughts on their arranged marriages.

A Holocaust historical fiction novel with an original narrator

"The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $6.99 

Set in 1939 Nazi Germany, Liesel is a foster girl living outside of Munich who begins to steal books after finding "The Gravedigger's Handbook" partially buried by her brother's grave. As she falls in love with reading, the country around her descends deeper into war. When her foster family hides a Jewish man in their basement, Liesel's understanding of the death and danger surrounding her grows as her exterior world shrinks. Narrated by Death, this is an intense and emotional World War II story as Liesel steals books from wherever she can — including Nazi book burnings.

A heart-racing historical fiction story about escaping slavery

"The Underground Railroad" by Colson Whitehead, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $10.25 

Cora is an enslaved young girl in Georgia, an outcast who knows she must escape before she reaches womanhood and faces even greater horrors. When Cora and her new friend decide to flee through the Underground Railroad, they soon find they're being hunted. The pair travels from state to state, risking their lives for the chance of freedom. Colson Whitehead's ability to instill in readers the terror that Cora feelsis astounding, making it no surprise this extraordinary title won the National Book Award in 2016 and the Pulitzer Prize in 2017.

A heartbreaking historical fiction book about friendship

"The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $10.50 

Set in Afghanistan from 1963-2001, this book tells the story of Amir, a wealthy young boy, and his best friend Hassan, the son of his father's servant. Like brothers, the boys spend their days flying kites to escape the difficulties of their lives, until a devastating act changes their relationship forever. This is a moving tale of friendship, guilt, and redemption that follows the real-world histories of military intervention and the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan while keeping the relationships between Amir, his father, and Hassan in the foreground.

A lyrical historical fiction book

"The Water Dancer" by Ta-Nehisi Coates, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $12.31 

"The Water Dancer" is a historical fiction novel that combines elements of magical realism in an engaging and moving story of memory, family, and slavery. Hiram Walker is the enslaved Black son of a plantation owner who has the ability to remember everything except his mother, taken and sold by his father when Hiram was only nine. After Hiram has a near-death experience, he decides he must escape the plantation and rescue his family in this dramatic and heart-racing journey. 

A historical fiction novel about an empowered henna artist

"The Henna Artist" by Alka Joshiavailable at Amazon and Bookshop , from $13.98 

"The Henna Artist" is an immersive read that tells the stories of many women in Jaipur in the 1950s. At only 17, Lakshmi is the most highly sought-after henna artist in Jaipur, having recently escaped her abusive marriage. While creating beautiful henna for her wealthy clients, she becomes a confidant to many women, offering wise advice while avoiding gossip. One day, Lakshmi is confronted by her husband, who brings her a young sister she didn't know she had. With her secure and independent life in jeopardy, Lakshmi must care for her teenage sister on her journey to a life she never knew she wanted.  

A familial historical fiction book that spans centuries

"Homegoing" by Yaa Ghasi, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $8.82 

"Homegoing" is a multi-generational story that spans 300 years and is beloved by readers for the unforgettable forces that shape families on opposite sides of the world. In 18th century Ghana, two half-sisters are born in different villages, each unaware of the other's existence. One is married off into wealth, while the other is imprisoned in the dungeons of her sister's castle, soon sold into the slave trade and raised in American slavery. This tale of legacy follows the descendents of each sister through centuries of colonization, migration, and war. 

A queer historical fiction book set in Uruguay

"Cantoras" by Caroline De Robertis, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $15.29

In 1977, Uruguay was ruled by an authoritarian military dictatorship under which homosexuality was not just a crime, but punishable by unspeakable means. Despite the dangers, five cantoras (women who sing) find each other through a friendship that blooms to love, family, and freedom. This novel is a passionate celebration of the safety and sanctuary of found families that begins with a trip to an isolated cape. 

A lyrical, Indigenous historical fiction novel

"Where the Dead Sit Talking" by Brandon Hobson, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $13.69 

"Where the Dead Sit Talking" is an emotional and authentic coming-of-age story featuring Sequoyah, who is placed in foster care after his single mother is jailed on drug charges. Set in 1980s Oklahoma, Sequoyah is a 15-year-old Cherokee boy and a survivor of childhood trauma and abuse. He quickly bonds with another Indigenous foster girl named Rosemary, sharing their past pains and precarious present in this award-winning, profound novel of suffering and strength.

A historical fiction story of love and redemption

"The Color Purple" by Alice Walker, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.99

The winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, this historical fiction book is about Celie and Nettie, two sisters who were separated as girls yet connect through letters spanning 20 years. This book brings to light the extent of abuse women of color have often faced and been expected to quietly endure — a devastating and emotional read about the resiliency of the human spirit and the persistent bond of sisterhood.

A historical fiction story about spiritual growth

"The Samurai's Garden" by Gail Tsukiyama, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $10.19

This historical fiction book is about the emotional and spiritual journey of a young Chinese painter named Stephen, set against the backdrop of the Japanese invasion of China in the late 1930s. When Stephen is sent to his family's coastal home to recover from tuberculosis, he meets four new people, including Matsu — a samurai of the soul who's dedicated himself to living a generous and nurturing life and helps Stephen gain physical, mental, and spiritual strength as the novel progresses.

A historical fiction novel that follows a family over 200 years

"The House of the Spirits" by Isabel Allendeavailable at Amazon and Bookshop , from $12.79 

Spanning three generations of a family in Chile, "The House of the Spirits" incorporates magical realism into an epic narrative that weaves joy, love, and fate through a history of rich culture and political unrest. Beginning just after World War I, this novel follows the women of the Trueba family whose gifts, triumphs, and tragedies are reflected in each generation of beautiful and meticulously crafted characters.

An engrossing historical fiction journey in 12th century England

"The Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follett, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $7

Ken Follett is most well-known as a bestselling thriller writer, so it's no surprise this hugely popular historical fiction novel has all the suspense, passion, and intricacies for which he's revered. Set in 12th century England, this medieval story of morality, betrayal, and love is about a monk who is driven to build a Gothic cathedral so great it will dawn a new age. Told with vivid detail, "The Pillars of the Earth" brings an incredible cast of characters and their hardships to life.

A historical fiction novel interwoven with magical realism

"The Night Tiger" by Yangsze Choo, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $13.59 

"The Night Tiger" is a historical fiction read that incorporates elements of magical realism, ancient superstition, and mystery to create a lush and exhilarating coming-of-age story set in 1930s Malaysia. Rin is a young Chinese houseboy and Ji Lin is an apprentice dressmaker, their paths unlikely to cross until their journeys intertwine over a severed finger. Rin has 49 days to reunite his master's missing finger with his body, lest his soul roams the earth. One night, Ji Lin's dance partner leaves her a severed finger. Convinced it's bad luck, she sets out to return it to its owner.

A historical fiction retelling of Indigenous heroes

"A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $6.73 

The Navajo Code Talkers were an instrumental group of native men who used their language to code messages during World War II, saving countless American lives. In this fictionalized retelling, Ned Begay is a teenage Navajo boy who becomes a code talker through rigorous Marine Corps training, fighting through some of the war's most brutal battles. While the novel highlights the discrimination the Navajo men faced, the story is also a celebration of Navajo culture and the code-talker heroes of World War II.

An emotionally trying historical fiction book

"The Darkest Child" by Delores Phillips, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $10.99 

Set in 1958 Georgia, Tangy Mae is 13 years old and one of 10 children, the darkest-skinned of her siblings and dubbed the ugliest by her light-skinned mother. The siblings all suffer horrific emotional and physical abuse by their mother, so when Tangy Mae is offered a spot in a nearby high school looking to assemble its first integrated class, she knows how life-changing yet impossible escaping her mother may prove to be.

A historical fiction read that begins in a remote village in China

"The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane" by Lisa See, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $12.91 

Li-yan is raised in a remote mountain village where the lives of those in the community revolve around tradition, ritual, and tea farming. When a stranger arrives in the first automobile the villagers have ever seen, it dawns a modern awakening for the community and some begin to reject its customs and traditions. When Li-yan has a child out of wedlock, she brings the baby to an orphanage and leaves her village in search of an education and city life while her daughter is raised in California by her adoptive parents in this story of heritage, familial bonds, and sacrifice.

A vibrant historical fiction story set during the Civil War

"Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell, available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $3.95

This classic historical fiction novel was originally published in 1936 but is set in Georgia in 1861 during the Civil War. The story focuses on Scarlett O'Hara, the spoiled daughter of a wealthy plantation owner whose life is forever changed by the Civil War. This is an intense book that captures the depth of transformation during the war, known for the manipulative and selfish ways of the unlikeable main character. "Gone with the Wind" won a Pulitzer Prize in 1937 and is widely considered a great American novel.

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Historical Fiction

During the Dog Days, Escape to the Old Days

These books rewind time, depositing readers in the Cumbrian countryside, coastal Maine, rural Wyoming and beyond.

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By Alida Becker

Summer reading should be completely escapist, sending you to places and times you’re reluctant to leave. The best historical novels do just that, and this season there are plenty to choose from.

The plot of Laura Spence-Ash’s BEYOND THAT, THE SEA (Celadon, 368 pp., $28) is rooted in the home-front upheavals of World War II, but it’s also a timeless exploration of what it means to create a family, of how dreams can die and be reborn in surprising ways. In August 1940, 11-year-old Beatrix Thompson is among a shipload of youthful British refugees whose parents have sent them to safety in New England. Her few years among these welcoming strangers will trigger decades of connections and disruptions involving the two sons of her host family, not to mention two very different maternal figures on either side of the Atlantic. “Some secrets,” Bea concludes, “are weights to be borne. Others are gifts, little bits of warmth, to be revisited again and again.” Sorting through them will be her big challenge.

Charles Frazier is best known for his vivid rendering of the Civil War South in “ Cold Mountain .” For his latest novel, THE TRACKERS (Ecco, 324 pp., $30) , he paints an equally vibrant portrait of Depression-era America via the extracurricular travels of Val Welch, a perhaps-too-trusting artist at work on a W.P.A.-funded mural in rural Wyoming. An invitation to lodge with a friend of his academic mentor will enmesh him in the domestic drama of a wealthy, politically ambitious art collector whose much younger, much less conventional wife has suddenly gone AWOL. Intent on quietly investigating her compromised past, Val’s host sends him on a mission that will open his eyes to the realities of what happens to “a mass of young people moving like a rain cloud all around the country, hungry and dirty and scared.”

Another decidedly unconventional spouse narrates Susanna Moore’s impeccably detailed depiction of THE LOST WIFE (Knopf, 172 pp., $27) . In flight from an abusive marriage in Rhode Island, the woman later known as Sarah Brinton hopes to join a friend in the Minnesota Territory. But on arrival she discovers that the friend has died of cholera, and the Western frontier in 1855 is no place for a woman alone. A marriage of convenience takes her to the Yellow Medicine Indian agency, where her new husband has been appointed resident doctor — and where the violent confrontation between encroaching whites and the increasingly restive Dakota strands her between their two worlds.

Brinda Charry has concocted a fascinating novel called THE EAST INDIAN (Scribner, 272 pp., $28) from the brief mention of a particular indentured servant in the historical records of early-17th-century Virginia. Getting her narrator from his childhood on the Coromandel Coast of India to the New World is a task she attacks with gusto, spicing his tale with references to a play he sees during a brief stint in London before he’s imprisoned on a ship bound for the colonies. Could the minor role of the foreign boy in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” provide a hint that this young man will find a place in the larger English story? Charry sends him through a host of venues to explore the possibilities.

The birth of the British raj and the death of princely India provide a backdrop for the addictively absorbing adventures in Tania James’s LOOT (Knopf, 304 pp., $28) , which also invents a lively hero from a footnote to history. This time that footnote is not a person but an automaton, known as Tipu’s Tiger, which may have been a collaboration between an Indian craftsman and a French visitor to the court of the sultan of Mysore. James’s central character is a Muslim woodworker with a knack for carving toys and an insatiable curiosity, talents that will serve him in good stead as he follows his French mentor back to Europe. There he will eventually be reunited with their elaborate faux beast (depicted, with horrifying sound effects, in the act of devouring a British soldier), but in circumstances that require a great deal of subterfuge, the perhaps unattainable good will of an eccentric English aristocrat and the kindling of what could turn out to be a rather profitable romance.

Emilia Hart’s WEYWARD (St. Martin’s, 336 pp., $27.99) doesn’t stray far from the Cumbrian countryside of northern England. Instead, its movement comes from the juxtaposition of three narratives linking the travails of a trio of women whose family history stretches back to the early 17th century. When first met, in 1619, Altha Weyward is on trial for witchcraft, accused of murdering a local farmer with the spells she learned from her mother. Intersecting with her story — and its gradually unfolding revelations about Altha’s actual activities — is an account of the viciously unhappy youth of a World War II-era descendant, an entomologist named Violet, who has been disinherited for reasons as yet unexplained. Also dealt into the mix is the present-day tale of Violet’s pregnant great-niece, Kate, whose attempt to wrest herself from a bad marriage takes her to the derelict cottage she has inexplicably inherited in Violet’s will. All three women will find solace in a powerful connection with nature, but all three will need to combat the life-changing power of some very bad men.

What historical fiction roundup could fail to include the Tudors? And what could be more fun than some subversive Tudoriana? That’s what’s on offer in ALL THE QUEEN’S SPIES (Atria, 392 pp., $27.99) , the latest installment in Oliver Clements’s rollicking series of historical thrillers featuring John Dee, the real-life alchemist who was court astronomer to the first Queen Elizabeth, and Francis Walsingham, her constantly conspiring spymaster. This time Clements has concocted a European mission for Dee involving the occult-obsessed (and extremely odd) Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf and a band of seductive ladies employed by France’s queen, Catherine de Medici, to do her clandestine bidding. The action comes to a climax in a forbidding castle in Prague and features an over-the-top guest appearance by the future playwright Christopher Marlowe.

Little is known about Will Somers, who became court jester to Henry VIII at the age of about 20 and held that position for the rest of his life. Which, of course, makes him irresistible to Jeri Westerson, who has already written a series of medieval noir novels. COURTING DRAGONS (Severn House, 210 pp., $30.99) is the first in a new series narrated by Will himself, a sprightly figure with a well-cultivated flair for gossip and a vigorously pansexual appetite. It’s this latter that embroils him in the murder of a Spanish diplomat and a murky blackmail scheme, as well as a possible plot to kidnap Princess Mary. “The court was full of dragons,” Will observes. “Which dragons must I slay to protect Henry? And which to protect myself?”

Alida Becker is a former editor at the Book Review.

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The 50 best historical fiction books of all time

Historical fiction allows us to immerse ourselves in eras long past. here are our top picks for when you want to lose yourself with a cast of characters in another time and place..

The best historical novels are meticulously researched and wonderfully evocative of times gone by. Whether you’re looking for the sweeping historical romance of Winston Graham’s historical fiction series Poldark , or feminist retellings of ancient Greek myth like Natalie Haynes’ Stone Blind , there’s a historical fiction novel for everyone. Here, ancient history expert and historical fiction fan Dr Jean Menzies shares some of the very best historical novels of all time.

There’s a reason we’re drawn to the past. History is inescapable. Decisions are made on the back of past events, and lives are affected by the stories of those that came before us. Historical fiction books resonate with modern readers because they give us the chance to immerse ourselves in another time. Each of the historical fiction novels on this list tells the stories of different characters, from the plains of Ancient Greece, the dark middle ages, or the battlefields of WWI and WWII.

The best historical fiction of 2024

By kristin hannah.

Frankie McGrath, a nursing student in 1965 California, has her world transformed when she's told "women can be heroes, too." Joining the Army Nurses Corps to follow her brother to Vietnam, Frankie faces the harsh realities of war and its aftermath. Amidst chaos and heartbreak, she finds strength in female friendship and learns the value of sacrifice and commitment. This emotionally charged novel illuminates the often-forgotten stories of women who bravely served their country. With a memorable heroine, searing insights, and lyrical beauty, The Women is a poignant tale of courage guaranteed to move any book club.

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A complete guide to Kristin Hannah's books

Maude horton’s glorious revenge, by lizzie pook.

If you like your historical fiction on the mysterious side, be sure to add Maude Horton's Glorious Revenge to your 2024 reading list. Set in the heart of Victorian London’s seedy underbelly, Lizzie Pook’s newest novel follows young Maude Horton as she embarks on a search for her missing sister Constance. With only the cryptic clues her sister left in her diary to help her, Maude finds herself uncovering the city’s darkest secrets and mixing with some of its most sinister characters in this twisty and addictive historical thriller.

The World and All That It Holds

By aleksandar hemon.

Rafael Pinto's life hasn't quite turned out as he expected. But he is, on the whole, happy. He spends his time crushing herbs at a pharmacy, a far cry from his poetry-filled student days in libertine Vienna. And then the world explodes. In the trenches in Galicia, fantasies fall flat. War devours all that they have known, and the only thing Pinto has to live for is the attentions of fellow soldier, Osman. Together, Pinto and Osman will escape the trenches and find themselves entangled with spies and Bolsheviks. As they travel all the way to Shanghai, it is Pinto’s love for Osman that will truly survive.

by Kate Morton

A gripping mystery set between Australia and London, Homecoming , is the much-anticipated new novel by Kate Morton. When 89-year-old Nora's health takes an unexpected turn for the worse, Jess boards the first plane out of London, her home of twenty years, to be by her grandmother's bedside in Sydney. Soon, she discovers that the usually stoic Nora has been hiding a family secret and vows to get to the heart of the mystery of what happened on a fateful Christmas Eve sixty years before. 

Discover more books my Kate Morton

By kate foster.

A thrilling historical murder tale and so much more besides, The Maiden is inspired by a real-life case from seventeenth-century Edinburgh. Lady Christina is newly married, wealthy and respected. A year later she is on trial for the murder of her lover, James Forrester, her story splashed across newspapers: Adulteress. Whore. Murderess. Why did she risk everything for an affair? And did it really end in murder? She certainly wasn't the only woman who might have wanted Forrester dead. . .

by James Hynes

This vivid coming of age story set at the end of the Roman Empire, follows Sparrow – a boy of no known origin living in a brothel. He spends his days listening to stories told by his beloved ‘mother’ Euterpe, running errands for her lover the cook, and dodging the blows of their brutal overseer. But a hard fate awaits him – one that involves suffering, murder and mayhem. To cope he will create his own identity – Sparrow – who sings without reason and can fly from trouble. This is a book with one of the most powerfully affecting and memorable characters of recent fiction, brought to life through James Hynes meticulous research and bold imagination. 

by Percival Everett

In Percival Everett's latest novel, he lays out a precise and painful depiction of the Antebellum South. The novel is told from the perspective of James (formerly ‘Jim’), the affable companion of Huckleberry Finn in Mark Twain’s eponymous novel. Crucially in Everett’s re-telling, James is resurrected from the graveyard of racist archetypes (in this case, the docile, obedient, noble slave who values his master’s life over his own), and is given multiple dimensions and a character arc of his own: when James embarks on a quest to secure his wife and daughter’s freedom, Huck tags along for the ride.

A guide to Percival Everett's books

The square of sevens, by laura shepherd-robinson.

Set in Georgian high-society, The Square of Sevens is a historical fiction novel packed with fortune-telling, travels and mystery. A girl known only as Red, the daughter of a Cornish fortune-teller, travels with her father making a living predicting fortunes using the ancient method: the Square of Sevens. When her father suddenly dies, Red becomes the ward of a gentleman scholar. But soon, she can't ignore the burning questions about her family. The pursuit of these mysteries takes her across the country in an epic tale of intrigue, heartbreak and audacious twists. 

Other Women

By emma flint.

Emma Flint’s evocative historical novels transport you to another time and place. In her new book, Other Women , the destination is London, devastated by the impact of the Great War. For unmarried Beatrice Cade, the war has robbed her of the chance to find true love and have a family, just like it has for millions of others. One day a chance encounter changes her life, and she falls head over heels in love with someone she should never have met. An enthralling tale of obsession, murder and lives intertwined by forbidden love, Other Women is a novel that you won’t be able to put down. 

The best historical fiction of 2023

Stone blind, by natalie haynes.

This retelling of the famed myth of Medusa asks who the real monsters are, after all. The sole mortal raised in a family of gods, Medusa is alone in her ability to experience change and to be hurt. Then, when the sea god Poseidon commits an unforgivable act in the temple of Athene, the goddess takes her revenge where she can – and she is changed forever. Writhing snakes replace her hair, and her gaze now turns any living creature to stone. Unable to control her new power, she is condemned to a life of shadows and darkness. Until Perseus embarks upon a quest . . .

A guide to Natalie Haynes' fiction & non-fiction books

The armour of light, by ken follett.

In 1792, England hungers for supremacy while France witnesses Napoleon's ascent. Meanwhile, Kingsbridge, a once-tranquil town, stands on the brink. Industrial innovation sweeps the land, shattering the lives of workers and tearing families apart. In the face of encroaching tyranny, a small but resolute group from Kingsbridge emerges. Their intertwined stories encapsulate a generation's struggle for enlightenment, as they rally against oppression and fight passionately for a future free from the shackles of an oppressive regime. The Armour of Light is the latest instalment in Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series.  

Ken Follett's Kingsbridge novels in order

Once a monster, by robert dinsdale.

Robert Dinsdale brings Victorian London to life in this unusual blend of historical fiction with ancient myth. Ten-year-old orphan Nell belongs to a crew of mudlarks who work a stretch of the Thames. She spends her days searching for treasure in the mud in order to appease her master, Benjamin Murdstone. That is until she finds a body on the shore – a seven-foot matted creature with horns. As she ventures closer the figure draws breath and Nell is forced to make a decision that will change her life forever. 

The Dance Tree

By kiran millwood hargrave.

It's 1518 in Strasbourg, and in the intense summer heat a solitary woman starts to dance in the main square. She dances for days without rest, and is joined by hundreds of other women. The city authorities declare a state of emergency, and bring in musicians to play the devil out of the dancing women. Meanwhile pregnant Lisbet, who lives at the edge of the city, is tending to the family's bees. The dancing plague intensifies, as Lisbet is drawn into a net of secret passions and deceptions. Inspired by true events, this is a compelling story of superstition, transformative change and women pushed to their limits.

The House of Fortune

By jessie burton.

A glorious, sweeping story of fate and ambition, The House of Fortune is the sequel to Jessie Burton’s bestseller  The Miniaturist . Amsterdam, 1705. Thea Brandt is about to turn eighteen and she can't wait to become an adult. Walter, her true love, awaits Thea at the city's theatre. But at home on the Herengracht things are tense. Her father Otto and Aunt Nella bicker incessantly and are selling furniture so the family can eat. And, on her birthday, the day her mother Marin died, secrets from Thea's past threaten to eclipse the present. Nella is feeling a prickling sensation in her neck, which recalls the miniaturist who toyed with her life eighteen years ago.

A guide to Jessie Burton's books

The darkest sin, by d. v. bishop.

It's spring in Florence in 1537, and Cesare Aldo is investigating a report that a convent in the northern quarter has been breached. Soon Aldo finds himself immersed in a bitterly divided community. And when a man's body is found in the convent, it seems as if one of the nuns must be the murderer. Meanwhile, Constable Carlo Strocchi finds human body parts in the Arno, which turn out to be the remains of a much feared officer who went missing in the winter. Aldo and Strocchi search for the truth, in an investigation that is increasingly full of peril.

The Ghost Ship

By kate mosse.

The third book in the Joubert Family Chronicles beging on the Barbary Coast in 1621. A mysterious vessel floats silently on the water. It is known only as the Ghost Ship. For months, its captain - Louise Reydon-Joubert - and her courageous crew has hunted pirates to liberate those enslaved during the course of their merciless raids. But now the Ghost Ship is under attack – its hull splintered, its sails tattered and burnt, and the crew at risk of capture. But the bravest among them are not who they seem.

Kate Mosse’s books in order

By hannah kent.

It's 1836 in Prussia, and teenage Hanne is finding the domestic world of womanhood increasingly oppressive. She longs to be out in nature, and finds little companionship with the local girls. Until, that is, she meets kindred spirit Thea. Hanne is from a family of Old Lutherans, whose worship is suppressed and secret. Safe passage to Australia offers liberty from these restrictions. But a long and harsh journey lies ahead, one which will put the girls' close bond to a terrible test.

Learned by Heart

By emma donoghue.

In 1805, at a boarding school in York, two fourteen-year-old girls cross paths. Eliza Raine, an orphan with an Indian heritage, feels isolated due to her differences. Anne Lister, a rebellious spirit, defies societal norms for women. Their love story blossoms, creating a profound bond that transcends time and shapes their lives forever. Learned By Heart is the heartbreaking story of the love of two women – Anne Lister, the real-life inspiration behind Gentleman Jack, and her first love, Eliza Raine – from the bestselling author of  Room  and  The Wonder.

A complete guide to Emma Donoghue's books

Moonlight and the pearler's daughter.

It's 1886, and the Brightwell family has just arrived at Bannin Bay in Western Australia after a long sea voyage from England. Ten-year-old Eliza has been promised bright pearls, shells like soup plates and good fortunes in a new land. Ten years later, and Eliza's father Charles Brightwell is the most successful pearler on the bay. When he goes missing from his boat at sea, rumours of mutiny and murder swirl across the bay. But Eliza refuses to believe that her father is dead and, in a town mired in corruption, she sets out to find the truth.

The Midwife

By tricia cresswell.

1838. A violent storm has hit the Northumberland coast, and a woman is found alone, naked and on the verge of death. She has no memory of how she got there, but she can speak fluent French, dress a wound and help women give birth. She starts to rebuild her life, helping those around her and finding a fragile happiness. Until tragedy strikes and she must go into hiding. Meanwhile in London, respectable Dr Borthwick assists mothers and babies in high society, and in the slums of Devil's Acre. The solitary doctor has a secret though, one which threatens to engulf him.

by André Dao

Anam takes us on a poignant journey from 1930s Hanoi to Saigon, Paris, Melbourne, and Cambridge, exploring memory, inheritance, colonialism, and belonging. The narrator, born into a Vietnamese family in Melbourne, grapples with his grandfather's haunting tale of imprisonment in Chi Hoa prison under the Communist government. Straddling his Australian upbringing and Vietnamese heritage, he faces the impact of his grandfather's death and the birth of his daughter on his own life's trajectory. André Dao artfully weaves fiction and essay, theory and personal experience, revealing forgotten aspects of history and family archives. 

Mrs Porter Calling

By aj pearce.

The third in A J Pearce's charming and uplifting World War Two series find Emmy Lake enjoying huge success at Woman’s Friend  magazine, where she is the much-loved agony aunt. But the arrival of a glamorous new owner puts this all at risk, as Mrs Porter's plans are slowly revealed and it becomes clear she will destroy everything readers love about the magazine.

The Librarian of Auschwitz: The Graphic Novel

By antonio iturbe.

Based on the life of Dita Kraus, a holocaust survivor , The Librarian of Auschwitz tells the story of the smallest library in the world – and the most dangerous. Imprisoned by the Nazis at Auschwitz aged fourteen along with her mother and father, Dita is asked to take charge of the eight precious books the prisoners have managed to smuggle past the guards. But in the children's block of Auschwitz, where the slightest transgression can result in execution, Dita must risk her life to keep the books alive. Out of one of the darkest chapters in human history, this graphic novel tells an extraordinary story of courage and hope. 

by Hernan Diaz

Everyone in 1920s New York knows of Benjamin and Helen Rask, the Wall Street tycoon and the daughter of bohemian aristocrats. They live in a sphere of untold wealth, but what is the true cost of their fortune? This mystery sits at the heart of Bonds , a bestselling 1938 novel that all of New York has read. But, like all stories, there are different perspectives, and Hernan Diaz puts these different narratives into conversation with each other, in a novel that tracks across a century and documents the truth-bending power of money, with provocative revelations at each turn. 

A Jewish Girl in Paris

By melanie levensohn.

Against the backdrop of Nazi-occupied Paris in 1940, Judith, a young Jewish girl, falls in love with the son of a wealthy banker and Nazi sympathiser. As restrictions on Jews tighten, the couple plans to escape, but Judith mysteriously disappears before they have the chance. 1982, Montreal: Lica Grunberg confesses to his daughter, Jacobina, that she has an older half-sister, Judith. Determined by the encouragement of her friend Béatrice, Jacobina takes on the mission to uncover the truth. Delving into the past, they unearth a concealed family secret spanning continents and decades, forever altering the course of their lives.

The best historical fiction of 2022

The red tent, by anita diamant.

In the Bible, the fate of Dinah is only given a brief and violent reference: she features in the Book of Genesis story that tells the tale of Jacob and his twelve sons. But Anita Diamant’s  The Red Tent  gives Dinah space to live and breathe. The narrative, which uses Dinah's voice, is one of betrayal, sorrow and love. Diamant’s feminist text weaves vivid storytelling with original insights into the lives of women in early history.

She Who Became the Sun

By shelley parker-chan.

An absorbing historical fantasy,  She Who Became the Sun  reimagines the rise to power of the Ming Dynasty’s founding emperor. In 1345, China lies restless under harsh Mongol rule. And when a bandit raid wipes out their home, two children must somehow survive. The boy despairs and gives in. But the girl resolves to overcome her destiny. So she takes her dead brother’s identity and begins her journey. Can she escape what’s written in the stars, as rebellion sweeps the land? Or can she claim her brother’s greatness – and rise as high as she can dream?

The Attic Child

By lola jaye.

It's 1907, and twelve-year-old Celestine is locked in the attic of a house by the sea. He has been forcibly removed from his home in Africa and is treated as a servant. He dreams of home and family, even as his mother's face, and his real name, begin to fade. Decades later a young orphan girl is banished to the same attic. Under the floorboards she finds mysterious artefacts, and on a wall there is a sentence etched in a language she does not recognise. What she does recognise though, is that she is not the first child to be held captive in the attic. This dual-narrative tale of love, loss and family secrets shines a light on the early Black British experience. 

Pippo and Clara

By diana rosie.

It’s 1938, Mussolini is in power in Italy and war is on the horizon. Pippo and Clara are brother and sister, newly arrived in an unspecified city with their family. When their mother goes missing one morning they both go in search of her, with Clara turning right and Pippo left. As a result of their choices, the children’s lives will be changed forever. Diana Rosie’s Pippo and Clara tells the story of a family and a country divided. But will Clara and Pippo – and their mother – find each other again?

Kololo Hill

By neema shah.

Neema Shah’s debut is a heartbreaking historical fiction novel set in Uganda and Britain. Uganda, 1972. When a devastating decree is announced which says all Ugandan Asians must leave the country in ninety days, Asha and Pran and Pran’s mother Jaya must leave everything they’ve ever known for a new life in Britain. But as they try to rebuild their lives, a terrible secret hangs over them. Neema Shah’s extraordinarily moving novel explores what it means to leave your home behind, what it takes to start again, and the lengths some will go to protect their loved ones.

Soul Sisters

By lesley lokko.

Soul Sisters tells the story of the friendship between Scottish Jen McFadden and South African-born Kemi Mashabane. Since they were children, Jen and Kemi have lived like sisters in the McFadden home in Edinburgh. On a visit to London the women meet handsome South African lawyer Solam Rhoyi and he has a great impact on them both. Kemi returns to her birth country, and Jen decides to come too, but it soon becomes clear that Solam is looking for a wife to help further his political ambitions. The women, bound by friendship and love, are also connected by a family secret, one which threatens to reveal itself with shocking consequences.  

The best historical fiction of all time

Dead man's walk, by larry mcmurtry.

The first book in the famed Lonesome Dove series from Larry McMurtry, Dead Man's Walk takes us into the heart of the American West. Gus McCrae and Woodrow Call first encounter the untamed frontier that will form their characters. The two young men experience their first great adventure in the barren, empty landscape of the great plains, in which arbitrary violence is the only law – whether from nature, or from those whose territory they must cross in order to reach New Mexico. Danger, sacrifice and fear test Gus and Call to the limits of endurance, as they seek the strength and courage to survive against almost insurmountable odds.

Les Misérables

By victor hugo.

A historical fiction classic, it took seventeen years for Hugo to write this epic novel set in impoverished 19th-century Paris. Made up of interrelated stories that follow his characters’ lives, Les Miserables explores how deprivation leads to crime, and ends with the Paris Uprising of 1832. Using big theatrical scenes, extremes of characters, and a fondness for ‘The Fallen Woman’, Hugo’s novel has a fairytale quality which delivers his message with a punch.

Blood Meridian

By cormac mccarthy.

Written in 1985, but set in the 1850s Blood Meridian explores the anarchic world opened up by America’s westward expansion. Through the hostile landscape of the Texas–Mexico border wanders the Kid, a fourteen year-old Tennessean who is quickly swept up in the relentless tide of blood. But the apparent chaos is not without its order: while Americans hunt Indians – collecting scalps as their bloody trophies – they too are stalked as prey. Powerful, mesmerizing and savagely beautiful, Blood Meridian is considered one of the most important works in American fiction of the last century.

A guide to the literary great: Cormac McCarthy

The miniaturist.

In 1686, eighteen-year-old Nella Oortman knocks at the door of a house in the wealthiest quarter of Amsterdam. She has come from the country to marry merchant trader Johannes Brandt, but instead she is met by his sharp-tongued sister, Marin. Only later does Johannes appear and present her with an extraordinary wedding gift: a cabinet-sized replica of their home. It is to be furnished by an elusive miniaturist, whose tiny creations mirror their real-life counterparts in unexpected ways. Does the miniaturist hold their fate in her hands? And will she be the key to their salvation or the architect of their downfall?

The Lamplighters

By emma stonex.

Inspired by true events, Emma Stonex’s debut historical novel is a riveting mystery which will grip the reader, and a beautifully written exploration of love and grief. In Cornwall in 1972, three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from shore. The door is locked from the inside, and the clocks have stopped. Twenty years later, the women they left behind are still struggling to move on. And then a writer approaches them. He wants to give the women a chance to tell their side of the story. What happened to those men, and to the women they left behind?

The Land Beyond the Sea

By sharon penman.

Set in 1172 the Kingdom of Jerusalem is also known as Outremer – the land beyond the sea. When the men of the First Crusade captured Jerusalem from the Saracens in 1099, many crusaders stayed on and built a life in this new world of blazing heat, exotic customs and enemies who are also neighbours. But now Saladin, leader of the vast Saracen army, is seeking retribution for the massacre in 1099 In The Land Beyond the Sea, Penman expertly weaves a complicated tapestry to create a historical fiction saga of epic proportions. 

The Pillars of the Earth

Welcome to medieval England, where a civil war ravages the country and a monk is on a mission. Ken’s The Pillars of the Earth follows Philip, a devoted monk, who joins forces with Tom, a talented builder, to undertake the most ambitious project either has ever set themselves to. In a world in turmoil, however, their journey will not be a smooth one. The first book in Ken Follett's Kingsbridge series, this historical saga is one to get lost in.

The Sin Eater

By megan campisi.

Set in a thinly disguised 16th century England, Megan Campisi’s debut novel is a wonderfully woven tale of treason and treachery, women and power. When fourteen year old May is arrested for stealing a loaf of bread she is sentenced to become a Sin Eater, a devastating sentence that will see her shunned by society and exiled to the edge of town. For a Sin Eater hears the confessions of the dying and eats their sins as a funeral rite, and is believed to be stained by these sins. When May is called to hear the deathbed confessions of two of the Queen’s courtiers she hears whispers of a terrible rumour her invisibility allows her to investigate. 

Ross Poldark

By winston graham.

Historical fiction is often the basis for some of the most acclaimed and popular period dramas, and Winston Graham’s Poldark series is no exception. In the first book Ross Poldark, the eponymous hero, returns home to Cornwall, tired from a grim war in America. But the joyful homecoming he has anticipated turns sour, for his father is dead, his estate is derelict and the girl he loves is engaged to his cousin. Then, his sympathy for the destitute miners and farmers leads him to rescue an urchin girl –  an act which alters the course of his life. 

The Water Dancer

By ta-nehisi coates.

This is the historical novel that Oprah Winfrey called, ‘One of the best books I have ever read in my entire life.’ Hiram Walker was born into slavery on a Virginia plantation, but one fateful decision will take him away from his plantation family and into the heart of the underground war on slavery. For Hiram is a man with a secret, a mysterious power he was gifted at birth. 

Dissolution

By c. j. sansom.

This is the first book to feature Matthew Shardlake, Sansom’s insightful Tudor lawyer. Set in 1537 as Henry VIII becomes Supreme Head of the Church and the bloody dissolution of the monasteries is beginning, Shardlake investigates the shocking murder of one of Thomas Cromwell’s commissioners. But Shardlake's investigation soon forces him to question everything he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes. Dissolution  is the first book in this bestselling phenomenon, where C. J. Sansom creates both a stunning portrait of Tudor England, and an unforgettable character in Matthew Shardlake. 

The Underground Railroad

By colson whitehead.

Winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize and also a major TV series, The Underground Railroad is Colson Whitehead's razor-sharp imagining of the antebellum South. Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. When Caesar, a slave recently arrived from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they take the perilous decision to escape to the North. At each stop on her journey, Cora encounters a different world. Whitehead brilliantly recreates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, as his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America, from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day. 

by Ian McEwan

One of the Guardian's 100 best books of the 21st century, Atonement is a formidable modern classic. On the hottest day of the summer of 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis sees her sister Cecilia strip off her clothes and plunge into the fountain in the garden of their country house. Watching her too is Robbie Turner who, like Cecilia, has recently come down from Cambridge. By the end of that day, the lives of all three will have been changed for ever, as Briony commits a crime for which she will spend the rest of her life trying to atone. 

Things Fall Apart

By chinua achebe.

First published in 1958, Chinua Achebe's stark, coolly ironic novel reshaped both African and world literature. Okonkwo is the greatest wrestler and warrior alive, and his fame spreads throughout West Africa like a bush-fire in the harmattan. But when he accidentally kills a clansman, things begin to fall apart. Then Okonkwo returns from exile to find missionaries and colonial governors have arrived in the village. With his world thrown radically off-balance he can only hurtle towards tragedy.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

By gabriel garcia marquez.

Originally written in Spanish, One Hundred Years of Solitude weaves a mesmerizing tapestry of magical realism and generational storytelling. The novel is set in the fictional town of Macondo, where the Buendía family's triumphs and tribulations unfold across generations. As the Buendía family navigates love, war, and the passage of time, Márquez delves into the intricate web of human connections. With its vivid imagery and lyrical storytelling, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a timeless exploration of love, loss, and the inexorable march of time.

War and Peace

By leo tolstoy.

War and Peace traverses the tumultuous landscape of early 19th-century Russia, interweaving the lives of a diverse cast against the backdrop of the Napoleonic Wars. The novel follows aristocratic families as they grapple with love, ambition, and existential questions during a time of immense societal upheaval. Pierre Bezukhov's quest for meaning, Prince Andrei Bolkonsky's search for purpose, and Natasha Rostova's journey of self-discovery are among the narrative threads that converge. The novel's canvas spans grand ballrooms, bloody battlefields, and intimate chambers, deftly blending historical events with profound philosophical musings. 

by Min Jin Lee

Pachinko is a captivating multigenerational saga set against the backdrop of 20th-century Korea and Japan. The novel centers on Sunja, who, after becoming pregnant by a wealthy man, becomes determined to forge her own path. The story delves into the lives of Sunja's descendants as they grapple with discrimination, ambition, and the complex ties that bind a family together. Pachinko is a deeply moving journey through generations, inviting readers to witness the enduring power of love, the pursuit of belonging, and the indomitable human spirit that thrives even in the face of adversity.

by Hilary Mantel

Set in 16th century England, Wolf Hall follows the rise of Thomas Cromwell, a shrewd and capable commoner, in the court of King Henry VIII. As Henry VIII seeks to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, Cromwell becomes instrumental in navigating the complex political and religious landscape of the time. The book delves into the intricate power struggles, religious conflicts, and personal ambitions of the characters and provides a fresh perspective on the events leading to the English Reformation and the establishment of the Church of England. A Booker-prize-winning novel, this is an essential read for all fans of historical fiction. 

by Colm Tóibín

Set in the 1950s, Brooklyn traces Eilis Lacey's journey from a small Irish town to Brooklyn, New York. Eilis grapples with homesickness but gradually forges a life in America, working and falling in love. Unexpectedly, a family crisis summons her back to Ireland, where she becomes torn between her two worlds. The book delves into Eilis's inner conflict as she navigates questions of identity and belonging. The novel is a poignant exploration of personal growth and cultural displacement, showcasing the complexities of choosing between two lives.

For even more historical fiction recommendations, don't miss this episode of Book Break:

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The Best Historical Fiction Books for 2022 (New & Anticipated)

With a bunch of great historical fiction books in store for 2022, I thought it was time to do a roundup of the best of these titles. For me, I know I’ll be reading the new Kate Quinn novel, The Diamond Eye . Also, The Christie Affair by Nina de Gramont and Woman on Fire (about Nazi-looted art) by Lisa Barr sounds really intriguing as well.

This is a list of the Best (New & Anticipated) Historical Fiction Books for 2022 . The list has been compiled based on stuff I’ve read, other reviews, early buzz, etc., so I’ll be updating it as more titles are announced or released and more reviews are published!

Want more historical fiction? See the list of Best Historical Fiction for 2021 .

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I just love to read historical novels because it makes history more personal. However I am very cautious about what I read. Foul language and explicit sexual encounters offend me. I am a Christian and want to obey God by keeping my mind as pure as possible. Only by checking publishers can I be certain the contents are right for me. Could you, in the future, include indication for language and sexual content? Thank you.

Great books! Highly recommended.

I enjoy historical fiction and am looking forward to several of these titles myself. Kate Quinn, for example, is a wonderful writer. I also enjoyed the Minaturist and I am looking forward to that book.

‘The Stone Home’ peers into dark corners and dares readers to look

Crystal hana kim’s historical novel is inspired by horrifying conditions at state-sanctioned reformatory centers in south korea during the 1980s.

If history is made of culture’s collective memory, novelists have an important role in enlarging and complicating that memory — especially when it comes to the lesser-known chapters, even the ones that seem best forgotten. Crystal Hana Kim does exactly that in her courageous new novel, “ The Stone Home ,” which peers into the darkest corners and dares the reader to look.

In the years leading up to the 1988 Seoul Olympics, South Korea ran a number of institutional “reformatories” ostensibly designed to “rehabilitate” vagrants and other marginalized people. That history serves as the foundation for Kim’s novel, which begins in 1980 with 15-year-old Eunju and her mother, who are living a hardscrabble, hand-to-mouth existence when they are abruptly seized by police and locked in an internment camp called the Stone Home. They are given no explanation, no recourse and no information about this place, but they quickly learn they are being held in a state-sponsored hellscape that will take them all their daring and resilience to survive.

The story of Eunju interweaves with that of Sangchul and his older brother, Youngchul. The teenage boys also were captured. Unlike Eunju, they have a home and a family they believe will rescue them; instead, they become prisoners, given no access to the outside world, and no details about where they are or how long they are to remain. Sangchul and Eunju share similarities — they are wily, intelligent, filled with grit and a fierce resolve to escape. They work together in one of the reformatory sweatshops; each has a kind of grudging admiration for the other, but in many ways they’re too alike to become friends.

Intersecting these stories is another narrative line. In 2011, a strange woman appears at Eunju’s doorstep holding a knife. The woman says that the knife belonged to her father, who recently died, and that she has come in search of information. Stunned, Eunju recognizes the knife, an artifact of her past; at the same time, the identity of this visitor begins to dawn on her. Raised in the States, this young Korean American woman named Narae has almost no information about her biological family, but her father has indicated that Eunju holds the answers.

“The Stone Home” is, at its heart, an excavation of family secrets and a claiming of the truth, as Eunju suddenly finds herself unearthing repressed memories. In retelling these traumatic events to Narae, Eunju relives all of them.

The stories are horrific. The inmates of the Stone Home endure inhuman conditions at the hands of deranged individuals, such as Warden and Teacher. The prisoners are starved and beaten, the children are made to work long hours, laboring to meet impossible quotas, churning out fish hooks and sneakers that will be exported and sold overseas. Alliances between the inmates shift; friendships are made and betrayed. Eunju and Sangchul are both bolstered and frustrated by their incarcerated family members. Sangchul chafes against his older brother’s gentler nature, insisting that it’s only through brute strength that one can survive. Eunju frets endlessly over her mother, who will do anything to protect her daughter. More than 30 years later, Eunju despairs of ever being able to adequately convey these experiences to young Narae:

“Her American impatience, her want to find a neat answer she can hold upright in her palm.

“ I’m telling you what he wanted you to know. I point to the deepening sky, as if the answers are written.”

Eunju wishes she could soften these memories for Narae but believes she owes the young woman the unvarnished truth. “The Stone Home” is relentless in its account of brutality: Sometimes the writing is so emotionally overwrought and fragmented that it’s difficult to follow the chain of events. Still, the beauty of Kim’s prose creates a lyrical counterpoint to the atrocities she depicts, heightening the sense of poignancy, intimacy and horror.

Some fiction is both story and testimonial — a bearing witness to lessons that must not be forgotten. Haunting and elegiac, “The Stone Home” is fearless in its clear-eyed recounting. It asks readers to consider our own secret histories, to allow hard truths to be heard and, in so doing, to never let such barbarity happen again.

Diana Abu-Jaber is the author of “Birds of Paradise,” “Origin” and the culinary memoir “Life Without a Recipe.” Her most recent book is “Fencing With the King.”

The Stone Home

By Crystal Hana Kim

William Morrow. 352 pp. $30

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Best Historical Fiction Book Review Blogs in 2024

Showing 107 blogs that match your search.

Books And Pals

http://www.booksandpals.blogspot.com/

Please read the instructions carefully. Failure to follow them will result in your submission being ignored with no acknowledgement. All reviews are final. Prior to submission, we would advise reading this post and the Guide to Reviews, as well as getting a general feel for the book review blog.

Blogger : Al & Pals

Genres : Historical Fiction

🌐 Domain authority: 43

👀 Average monthly visits: 18,600 p/mo

💌 Preferred contact method: Email

⭐️ Accepts indie books? Yes

https://bookvue.wordpress.com/

Book Vue was born out of the editor's restless desire to share with the world thoughts and opinions on some of the greatest books out there. The honesty behind each review is the essence of the blog.

Blogger : Chitra Iyer

🌐 Domain authority: 5

👀 Average monthly visits: 100 p/mo

Heyit'sCarlyRae Book Club

http://www.heyitscarlyrae.com

I'm an Instafamous Book Blogger who loves all genres of novels. Reading is my passion!

Blogger : Carly-Rae London

🌐 Domain authority: 12

👀 Average monthly visits: 8,000 p/mo

💌 Preferred contact method: Website contact form

Literary Quicksand

https://literaryquicksand.com/

We’re a book blog based out of Minneapolis, MN. We feature a group of women writers from multiple countries who all come together over one thing: our love of books!

Blogger : Jolissa Skow

🌐 Domain authority: 31

👀 Average monthly visits: 4,000 p/mo

The Bookish Elf

https://www.bookishelf.com/

The Bookish Elf is a site you can rely on for book reviews, author interviews, book recommendations, and all things books.

Blogger : Mitul Patel

🌐 Domain authority: 40

👀 Average monthly visits: 30,000 p/mo

My Writing Life

https://juliahoneswritinglife.blogspot.com

I Blog about unique reads.

Blogger : Julia Hones

🌐 Domain authority: 28

👀 Average monthly visits: 500 p/mo

https://booksnest.co.uk/

I am an award-winning book blogger with a love of reading and passion for books, I love writing about books on my blog and getting involved in this wonderful community!

Blogger : Beth Bartholomew

🌐 Domain authority: 21

👀 Average monthly visits: 7,200 p/mo

Love Books Group

https://lovebooksgroup.com/

My name is Kelly and I am the founder of Love Books Group. I live on the outskirts of Edinburgh with my two cats Pawkey and Poppet. My blog came to fruition in January 2017 as an outlet to talk about all things books. I thoroughly enjoy the world it has let me become a part of. Getting to meet new people, authors, readers, and fellow bloggers has been marvellous.

Blogger : Kelly Lacey

👀 Average monthly visits: 40,000 p/mo

Booklover Book Reviews

https://www.bookloverbookreviews.com/

WELCOME BOOKLOVERS! I’m Jo, an Aussie book reviewer. I started this website in 2009 and quickly realised I enjoy writing and blogging about books almost as much as reading them. Hope you enjoy browsing my book reviews & following my reading adventures.

Blogger : Joanne

🌐 Domain authority: 36

The Perpetual Page-Turner

http://perpetualpageturner.com/

Simply put, The Perpetual Page-Turner is a book blog that has no boundaries. I read and review young adult literature of all genres, adult fiction (of most genres) and non-fiction (mostly travelogues and memoirs). Think of it as sitting down with a friend (with some margaritas and chips & guac) and just talking back and forth about the latest book you just read or want to read.

Blogger : Jamie

🌐 Domain authority: 45

👀 Average monthly visits: 9,200 p/mo

⭐️ Accepts indie books? No

The Lesbian Review

http://www.thelesbianreview.com/

The Lesbian Review is the home of book reviews done by women who absolutely LOVE lesbian fiction and who are not just going to read and enjoy every lesbian novel out there. We read a lot and are a tough crowd to please. But that is great news for you because it means this book blog only showcases lesbian fiction books that are really good. If we don't like it, we don't review it.

Blogger : The Lesbian Review

🌐 Domain authority: 37

👀 Average monthly visits: 10,200 p/mo

One Book Two

https://onebooktwo.wordpress.com/

One Book Two was founded by Nell and Ivana to compare thoughts on books we've both read. Shortly after it launched in March of 2015, it exploded! Now we have multiple reviewers who read a variety of genres. We don't always get to have two reviews for each book anymore, but we do our best!

Blogger : The OBT Team

🌐 Domain authority: 24

👀 Average monthly visits: 5,000 p/mo

💌 Preferred contact method: Mail

Indie Reader

http://indiereader.com/

There were over 391,000 books self-published in 2012. That's a lot of company (and competition!) for any author.åÊIndieReader offers the best value for reviews, bar none. IR's reviewers & some of the best in the field & will let you know if you've achieved what you set out to do. Charges may apply. IR also recommends titles to the HUFFINGTON POST and USA TODAY.

Blogger : The IndieReader Team

🌐 Domain authority: 49

👀 Average monthly visits: 15,000 p/mo

Bookishloom

https://bookishloom.wordpress.com/

Bookishloom is a blog about books and all things bookish. Come and read an interesting post on your favourite Classic or a New Release.

Blogger : Ninu Nair

🌐 Domain authority: 3

👀 Average monthly visits: 2,000 p/mo

The Chrysalis BREW Project

https://thechrysalisbrewproject.com/

The Chrysalis Books, Reviews, and Everything Written (BREW) Project is an up-and-coming platform that aims to help content creators and audiences to grow, thrive, and soar through reviews, interviews, features, news, press releases, podcasts, and promotions. BREW hosts the monthly and annual BREW Readers' Choice Awards, the annual BREW Book Excellence Awards, and the quarterly and annual BREW International Blog Awards.

Blogger : Esperanza Pretila

🌐 Domain authority: 18

So you want to find a book blog?

If you’re a voracious reader, you might think of a book blog as an oasis in the middle of the desert: a place on the Internet that brims with talk about books, books, and more books.

Well, good news — we built this directory of the 200 of the best book blogs  to satiate your thirst. Take a walk around, use the filters to narrow down your search to blogs in your preferred genre, and feel free to bookmark this page and come back, as we do update it regularly with more of the best book blogs out there. 

If you’re an aspiring author, you might see a book blog more as a book review blog: a place where you can get your yet-to-be published book reviewed. In that case, you’ll be glad to know that most of the book blogs in our directory are open to review requests and accept indie books! We expressly designed this page (and our book marketing platform, Reedsy Discovery ) to be useful to indie book authors who need book reviews. If you’re wondering how to approach a book blog for a review request, please read on. 

You’ve found a book blog. Now what? 

Let’s say that you’re an author, and you’ve found a couple of book blogs that would be perfect fits to review your book. What now? Here are some tips as you go about getting your book reviews:

• Be sure to read the review policy. First, check that the book blog you’re querying is open to review requests. If that’s the fortunate case, carefully read the blog’s review policy and make sure that you follow the directions to a T.  
• Individualize your pitches. Book bloggers will be able to immediately tell apart the bulk pitches, which simply come across as thoughtless and indifferent. If you didn’t take the time to craft a good pitch, why should the blogger take the time to read your book? Personalize each pitch to up your chances of getting a response. 
• Format your book in a professional manner before sending it out. Ensure that your manuscript isn’t presented sloppily. If the book blogger asks for a digital ARC, you might want to check out apps such as Instafreebie or Bookfunnel. 
• Create a spreadsheet to track your progress. Wading through so many book blogs can be troublesome — not to mention trying to remember which ones you’ve already contacted. To save yourself the time and trouble, use a simple Excel spreadsheet to keep track of your progress (and results). 

Looking to learn even more about the process? Awesome 👍 For a detailed guide, check out this post that’s all about getting book reviews . 

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As an unpublished or self-published author, it can be a relentless struggle to attract a significant amount of attention to your book or manuscript. By purchasing an editorial review, authors can have the opportunity to build some name recognition and get noticed by agents, publishers and other industry influencers.

Our indie reviews are written by qualified professionals, such as authors, librarians, creative executives and more. While we do not guarantee positive reviews, unfavorable reviews can be taken as valuable feedback for improvements and ultimately do not have to be published on our site. Our most popular review option is priced at $99, so you can receive an affordable book review that could boost your writing career. Get started by following the steps below:

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The Mainstreaming of Historical Fiction

H istorical fiction is suddenly everywhere. It’s on the bestseller list, in college classrooms, and probably on the lap of the woman sitting next to you on the train. A genre that at one point felt maligned and boring—neither serious nor sought after—has undergone a full-on transformation. In just the past few months, some of the most anticipated new releases by contemporary literature’s most beloved authors have been historical, including Lauren Groff’s The Vaster Wilds , Zadie Smith’s The Fraud, James McBride’s The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, and Jesmyn Ward’s Let Us Descend .

Evidence of historical fiction’s resurgence is everywhere: three out of five works of fiction nominated for this year’s National Book Award are historical. Hernan Diaz’s Trust won the Pulitzer Prize. New and anticipated film and TV adaptations like Lessons in Chemistry , Pachinko , All the Light We Cannot See , and Daisy Jones and the Six (alongside the enduring popularity of period dramas like Bridgerton ) show an ever-widening interest in the genre, taking the form of everything from serious literary study to guilty pleasure.

Just as science fiction, once dismissed as merely “popular,” has enjoyed increasing acceptance as literary, historical fiction has become widely critically recognized. Like science fiction, historical fiction can speak to the present moment without necessarily responding to the most recent news headline or Twitter feud. It can also be a means of formal experimentation or inspiring empathy and identification with characters over time. Writers like Groff and Smith use historical settings to rewrite history and to expand our understanding of who and what is at the heart of the stories we already know. And, increasingly, they do so without being condemned to the back shelves of the bookstore.

While science fiction has long been beloved by readers, it has historically been shunned by critics, university writing programs, and award-granting institutions. Margaret Atwood, seeking to set herself apart in her 2004 essay collection, Moving Targets , claimed that none of her work was science fiction. She preferred the term “speculative,” which seemed closer to serious. Ursula K. Le Guin, reviewing Atwood’s Year of the Flood for The Guardian a few years later, called out the misclassification, one she claims Atwood made “to protect her novels from being relegated to a genre still shunned by hidebound readers, reviewers, and prize-awarders.”

It’s no wonder why. In his 2003 review of Atwood’s Oryx and Crake, New York Times critic Sven Birkerts wrote, “I am going to stick my neck out and just say it: science fiction will never be Literature with a capital 'L.'” This was not atypical thinking at the time.

The debate hasn’t aged well. In the intervening years, Atwood and Le Guin’s work has been read, reviewed, and prized beyond belief. Their acclaim has helped pave the way for a new generation of writers like Emily St. John Mandel , Sequoia Nagamatsu, and Ted Chiang, whose work has been described as “speculative” and “science fiction” interchangeably, all while being awarded, cited on bestseller lists, and adapted for film and television.

Alexander Manshel’s new book, Writing Backwards: Historical Fiction and the Reshaping of the American Canon , out November 21, tells a similar (albeit longer) story about historical fiction’s transformation from denigrated to celebrated. Reading Manhsel’s account, I had a realization that a moment in Nathan Hill’s new novel, Wellness, summed up fully. One of Hill’s protagonists, Elizabeth, looks up to realize that summer has turned into fall, seemingly all at once. It must have happened gradually, but she ignored the signs until they were undeniable.

People use foliage trackers to determine when they can see the changing leaves at their most colorful and vibrant. By all measures, historical fiction has reached what such a tracker would categorize as peak conditions.

Wellness is itself a sign of this culmination. It is a New York Times bestseller and an Oprah’s Book Club pick. It has received glowing reviews from major literary and popular outlets, recently appearing as a recommendation on the Today Show. It is also a serious book—a weighty tome of 600 pages. Moving back and forth through the literary past to today, tracing the lives of two married people, it looks at prominent and pressing issues of the present, like how so much of what we read and believe is determined by algorithms. For Hill, the past becomes a tool to look at how people succumb to and are changed by these contemporary phenomena.

Critics appreciate the ambitious nature of such a project, and readers of all kinds are drawn to books that follow families over time. Multi-generational family sagas like Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko and Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing enjoy both literary acclaim and widespread popularity, prescribed by university professors and book clubs alike.

Reading Pachinko , the story of a young woman named Sunja and her family during the Japanese occupation of Korea and onwards to the present, it’s impossible not to become invested in the family’s fate. Knowing their interwoven origins and backstories makes them all the more real—especially at a time when social media and literature have popularized psychological thinking, and we view people’s early lives as determining so much of who they are.

These sprawling narratives superimpose a family’s story onto history, allowing one to amplify the other—personalizing historical moments while also elevating familial events to the same level of importance. I know I am not alone in having wept as Sunja’s family expanded and contracted over the course of generations.

Kristin Hannah’s novels represent another side of the same coin. One of today’s most popular writers, although not necessarily known as a literary one, Hannah has an uncanny ability to reduce readers to tears. Review after review of her more than twenty novels (the majority of which are historical fiction) include descriptions of puffy, tear-ravaged faces or warnings to keep a box of Kleenex handy.

The books are also loved, read widely, and consistently awarded prizes by popular outlets. The Nightingale , a shattering World War II-era romance, won Goodreads' Best Historical Fiction novel and the People’s Choice Award for best fiction in 2015. Its film adaptation is currently in production at TriStar starring Dakota and Elle Fanning. The Great Alone , published in 2018, tells the difficult story of a Vietnam veteran’s return to his family. A changed man, he moves his wife and daughter to a remote area of Alaska, where the realities of his condition are revealed. It became an instant New York Times #1 bestseller —as did The Four Winds , a Depression-era dustbowl drama that makes the Grapes of Wrath seem almost hopeful. Firefly Lane , another sometimes devastating novel following the friendship of two women over three decades, was adapted into a wildly successful Netflix series.

Hannah’s work features characters who are tested by great historical moments. As readers, we become not only invested in their personal histories, but in their place in the history we all share. Seeing them live through pasts we are familiar with adds another layer of recognition and heightens the books’ emotional resonance.

If Hannah’s work gives us emotional insight into why historical fiction enjoys such a large degree of popularity, in Writing Backwards , Manshel helps to explain how it rose to literary preeminence. Manshel traces the genre’s lineage from the start of the 20th century, when it was famously described by Henry James as “fatally cheap” and seen largely in terms of the bodice-ripping we associate with Bridgerton today.

The 1960s and 1970s marked the start of a reversal with postmodernist novels like Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 , Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow , and Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five . Writing about World War II with a sense of irony, these books challenged mainstream narratives of history and literature at the same time. Their inventiveness and popularity began to bestow a degree of prestige on the genre.

More sweeping changes came in the 1980s and 1990s, when, responding to cultural pressures both inside and outside of school walls, universities and publishers began to more widely recognize the importance of including works by a wider spectrum of people, and to consider the ways the books we read both inform and are informed by history.

Historical fiction filled that role in many ways, becoming a way to elevate histories by and about all kinds of people. During this period and into the present, historical novels have become more and more prominent on university syllabi. They’ve also increasingly been celebrated by prestige-granting institutions like the National Book Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pulitzer Prize committee.

Toni Morrison’s 1987 book Beloved is a prime example of (and a prime contributor to) this shift. The haunting story of Sethe, a woman who fled slavery but not its memory, Beloved holds many awards and a superlative amount of space on college English class syllabi. According to Manshel, Beloved is both “the single most canonical work of contemporary fiction” and “ the contemporary novel book most cited by literary scholars.”

It’s only logical that as the genre gained acclaim, more and more writers turned to historical settings. But there are other factors that explain its widespread appeal. Just as authors and readers have used science fiction to describe the current landscape (as in dystopias like Margaret Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale, Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower , or C. Pam Zhang’s more recent The Land of Milk and Honey ), historical fiction is uniquely well-positioned to address contemporary issues without necessarily calling them by name.

When news and social media timelines move so quickly that yesterday’s headline is today’s back page story, zooming out towards the longer arc of history allows readers (and writers) a break from the speed of contemporary life, without retreating from what matters. Genre fiction no longer has that old dusty patina of escapism. These books feel smart, insightful, and timely—and their contents won’t feel dated or irrelevant by the time the author has finished writing.

It also doesn’t hurt that distinguished writers like Zadie Smith are producing them. In her latest novel, The Fraud , Smith uses historical setting in expert ways—critiquing historical narrative, while parodying the recent present and the literary profession at the same time.

In the novel, Sir Roger Tichborne, the heir to a fortune, was presumed drowned in 1854. In 1866, a man comes forward and assumes his identity, while almost everyone disputes his claim. The ensuing trial and events surrounding it are a spectacle that inspires the heated populist division (reminiscent of both 2016 Twitter and a football game), with one group of people pointing out the dubiousness of this so-called Sir Roger and another insisting that Sir Roger is the people’s aristocrat, maligned because he does not adhere to their standards. The tone is, to say the least, familiar. As the narrative deepens, we see the ways that almost everyone seems focused on this trivial matter that they view as a major injustice, all while their livelihoods rest on the real horrors of slavery.

While the rest of England is held in rapt attention by the Tichborne saga, William Ainsworth, the historical novelist at the book’s core, is uninterested, focused on what he sees as timeless truths. But, really, instead of confronting the actual problems of his time, he retreats into the past. A thesis of The Fraud , it seems, matches one of mine: it is easy to lose sight of what’s really important in the tumult of what’s popular. Smith expands that to say that it is also easy to lose it in the pursuit of literary fame and big truths. The Fraud, like many of these novels, might show us the way to a middle ground.

Similarly, Hernan Diaz’s Trust , the 2023 Pulitzer Prize winner, also addresses the present with the past, while highlighting fiction’s own role in the arrangement. Focusing on the relationship between financier Andrew Bevel and his wife, Mildred, leading up to and after the financial crash of 1929 (which Bevel has seemed not only to predict but to profit from), Trust deconstructs the myth of a purportedly “self-made man.”

One section of the book, a parody of the autobiography of a great man, is Bevel’s attempt to mythologize himself. He is a narcissist who writes in elevated terms about his own contributions to his success in a tone that is recognizably Trumpian—here, Diaz offers a critique that both addresses and transcends the present moment.

Trust is about money and power, but also about how those things inform our telling of history, who is empowered to tell it, and how creative works have the potential to rebalance the scales. Moving from grand narratives like Bevel’s, which casts Mildred as a childlike and minor figure, to more and more personal and singular experiences, Bevel’s autobiography is followed by the memoir of the woman who helped write it. Her recollections show the way he lorded over the image of his wife. Finally, we reach Mildred’s own voice in her journals, tilting the focus of everything that comes before.

Trust moves from big histories to Mildred’s own experience. The person who is hinted at and talked about and around becomes realized. Trust ’s trajectory illustrates exactly what historical fiction has the capacity to do. It shifts perspectives, recasts history’s leads, and calls mainstream narratives into question.

Lauren Groff’s latest novel, The Vaster Wilds , performs this same recalibration of history. A play on the wilderness narrative or novel of captivity, it is a strange, lonely and, at times spiritual book.

The Vaster Wilds is told entirely through one girl’s claustrophobic perspective as she flees Jamestown, Virginia, traveling alone through unfamiliar woods in the winter. The dialogue is interior, constructed from the voices in her own head and the spirits within and around her. It is a poetic and brutal story of moment-to-moment survival. Both her present in the woods and her flashbacks to life in Jamestown are punctuated by aching and violent hunger.

The girl, taken from an orphanage and brought overseas by her employer, would not even be a footnote in the mainstream retelling of that era. As Groff explained in a recent interview with Esquire , “She would have been overlooked because she’s a servant and a foundling.”

But hers is a lens through which we can clearly view the horrors of colonialism and the brutality of nature, human and otherwise. Instead of glorifying empire and domination, we can see their failures. Pointedly, her experience in nature diverges greatly from the kind of wilderness narratives we are used to—ones that show white men conquering both nature and other people.

Groff’s survival narrative can sit alongside a group of novels challenging and revisiting the western novel, as The New York Times reported on this summer, citing Claudia Craven and Victor LaValle’s books. These works tackle this very traditional narrative structure, retooling old tales to include women, people of color, indigenous, and queer people. This isn’t a new phenomenon (Brokeback Mountain was published in 2005), but it is a trend that’s enduring and expanding.

In the past, publishing a work of historical fiction might have been seen as a left turn for a writer who has published a series of literary books on contemporary themes. Even in 2017, Jennifer Egan’s historical Manhattan Beach was described as a “surprising swerve” in The Atlantic.

But Groff’s career has been a series of these kinds of turns. She wrote an epic story of the unraveling of a hippie utopian community and those who lived on in its wake in Arcadia ; followed by a contemporary account of a marriage in Fate and Furies ; and then there was the thrilling departure of Matrix , about the 12th-century abbess Marie de France, a poet-nun who, guided by heavenly visions, transforms her priory from a home for starving nuns to a place of power and prosperity. The sweeping trajectory of Groff’s career and the vast amount of acclaim she has received illustrate both the potential and the power of the genre.

For Groff, and for many contemporary authors, historical settings have become a tool and a playground—a way to explore themes that cut across time and challenge the myths that have constructed our view of it. Historical novels of substance and quality are no longer exceptions. They are expected and celebrated, anticipated and awaited—as natural as the changing of the leaves.

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The Hidden Storyteller

By mandy robotham, you must sign in to see if this title is available for request. sign in or register now, send netgalley books directly to your kindle or kindle app, to read on a kindle or kindle app, please add [email protected] as an approved email address to receive files in your amazon account. click here for step-by-step instructions., also find your kindle email address within your amazon account, and enter it here., pub date jul 30 2024 | archive date aug 20 2024, general fiction (adult) | mystery & thrillers | women's fiction.

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Description

International bestselling author Mandy Robotham returns with a brand new tale set in war-torn Germany.

The war is over. But there are still secrets to be found amidst the ashes . . .

Hamburg, 1946

The war is over, and Germany is in ruins. Posted to an Allied-run Hamburg, reporter Georgie Young returns to the country she fled seven years prior – at the onset of the conflict – to find it unrecognisable.

Amongst the stark horrors of a bombed-out city crumbling under the weight of millions of displaced souls, she discovers pockets of warmth: a violinist playing amidst the wreckage, couples dancing in the streets, and a nation trying to make amends.

Joining forces with local detective Harri Schroder to catch a killer targeting women on the city’s streets, curiosity draws Georgie deep into the dark underbelly, and she soon discovers that some secrets of war did not die with Hitler…

The next gripping and heart-wrenching historical fiction novel from international bestseller, Mandy Robotham.

Readers love Mandy Robotham:

‘ Evocative and emotive , a real must-read . Both harrowing and very moving. I couldn’t put it down ’ Real Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘I really liked the crime element in the story. This book will stay with me. Great writing – very poignant and heart-wrenching ’ Real Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘This is a really great book , full of interesting characters that you want to survive’ Real Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘A thoroughly entertaining read. Strongly recommended’ Real Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘Another excellent novel by Mandy Robotham! A thriller with a dash of historical fiction. It was very well written, and she had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through’ Real Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

‘An informative, compassionate read of historical fiction. Highly recommended’ Real Reader Review, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The war is over. But there are still secrets to be found...

Available Editions

Available on netgalley, additional information, average rating from 1 member, see all member reviews, featured reviews.

As an ARC reader diving into "The Hidden Storyteller" by Mandy Robotham, I found myself immersed in a hauntingly vivid portrayal of post-war Germany. As the authors narrative skillfully weaves together the devastation of a bombed-out Hamburg with the resilience of its inhabitants. Georgie Young's return to a country she fled during the war sets the stage for a captivating exploration of loss, redemption, and the lingering shadows of secrets. What struck me most was the authors ability to evoke the atmosphere of the time period, painting a picture of a city struggling to rebuild amidst the rubble. The characters, particularly Georgie and Detective Harri Schroder, are intricately drawn, each grappling with their own demons as they navigate the murky aftermath of war. The mystery at the heart of the novel adds an extra layer of intrigue, drawing me deeper into the narrative as Georgie and Harri race to uncover the truth behind a series of gruesome murders. But it's not just the whodunit aspect that kept me turning pages; it's the way Robotham uses the investigation as a lens through which to explore the complexities of guilt, betrayal, and the human capacity for both good and evil. Overall, "The Hidden Storyteller" is a gripping and thought-provoking read that left me eagerly anticipating Mandy Robotham's next offering. Fantastic read. I can't wait for the next one. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review.

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